Google Launches $100M Career Fund to Help Underserved Americans

From PC Mag: Alphabet wants to help more than 20,000 Americans get job training and placement via a new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund.

The project, which CEO Sundar Pichai called "a new kind of financing model," aims to drive $1 billion in wage gains, and ultimately equip people with job-ready skills in fields like data analytics, IT support, project management, and UX design—no degree or experience required.

While Google invests capital and grants, Social Finance will provide funding to nonprofit partners like Merit America and Year Up, "who in turn will provide services like career coaching, live stipends, and job placement support," Pichai explained.

Designed around student access, the program sees students earn Google Career Certificates and is available at no upfront cost. Participants are connected with a consortium of 150-plus companies looking to hire workers with these skills, and only pay it back once they land a job earning at least $40,000 a year. Social Finance will then redistribute repayments to future learners for a more sustainable model.

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