Google commits $1B to train workers for hi-tech jobs

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has pledged $1 billion in new initiatives aimed at training American workers and helping build business.

At an event in Pittsburgh, Pichai said Google will spend the money over the next five years to fund grants to nonprofits globally as part of efforts to prepare people for the "changing nature of work."

"We're always asking how we can make sure the opportunities created by new technology are available for everyone, in any city, in any state," Pichai said. "In asking that, we recognize that there are large gaps in opportunity across the US. These are tough gaps."

Google will make grants in three core areas: education, economic opportunity and inclusion. The largest single grant—$10 million, the largest Google's ever made—is going to Goodwill, which is creating the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator. Over the next three years Goodwill, a major player in workforce development, aims to provide 1 million people with access to digital skills and career opportunities. Pichai says 1,000 Google employees will be available for career coaching.

“At Google, our mission is to make sure that information serves everyone, not just a few,” Pichai explained in the address. “A child in a school here in Pittsburgh can access the same information on Google as a professor at Carnegie Mellon. In the end, the internet is a powerful equalizer, capable of propelling new ideas and people forward.”

He also announced a second programme under which Google employees will be able to donate one million volunteer hours to nonprofits. Then there is "Grow with Google" programme aimed at training Americans how to get jobs or grow their businesses. The program aims to outfit people with computer and entrepreneurial skills.