Google Commits to Training 2 million people across Europe in Digital Skills
Last year Google gave a commitment to train one million Europeans in digital skills by the end of 2016 and the programme has been so successful that today, it announced it is doubling its outreach to train 2 million people across Europe in digital skills.
Ronan Harris, Head of Google in Ireland said; “We want all Europeans, regardless of age, background or location to be able to start a new business, grow their existing one, or share their passion online. In Ireland there is a great thirst for knowledge and people at all levels of society are enthusiastic to learn and improve their digital skills. Our first progamme in 2011 focused on Getting Irish Businesses Online and since then we’ve expanded our initiatives to include young people, educators, NGOs and others. These initiatives have grown year on year – last year about 14,000 people participated in Google led programmes in Ireland – and will receive added impetus in the coming year from our commitment to double the digital skills training we are providing across Europe”.
In Ireland, Google’s outreach includes working with content creators, start-ups, established SMEs, trade organisations, NGOs, teachers and young people to enhance their digital skills. Monthly Business Breakfasts for SMEs, sectoral training programmes for businesses in the retail, food and tourism sectors, the development and funding of Post-Graduate and Certificate Programmes in Computer Skills from Trinity College Dublin for Teachers, the nationwide Call to Code competition for students and the delivery of Digital Skills seminars during National Digital Week are just some of the initiatives undertaken by Google in Ireland during the past year.
Harris said that as Google’s EMEA HQ, Dublin plays an important role across Europe in the digital skills training programme. “The Foundry, our Digital Innovation Event Centre was the first to be established by Google and was strategically located in Ireland to leverage the incredible wealth of knowledge and skills within our own organisation and share that with entrepreneurs, new start-ups and established companies across Europe. Last year we hosted more than 81 external events in the Foundry with Europeans coming to Ireland to learn from Google digital experts based here.”
“At Google we’re proud to be an engine supporting business growth across Europe and helping to create valuable employment. Our Search, Maps and advertising tools bring new customers from down the street or across the planet. Google AdWords for example, is enabling suit lovers from all over the world to discover Irish company LoveSuits 40% of the company’s total business comes through AdWords and this has helped the company expand and open a new store, creating additional jobs, after being in business for just 16 months.
“As the world becomes smaller through advances in technology, the opportunities for citizens and businesses become even greater. If you think about it, when many of us were growing up, small businesses were local businesses. But now, with digital tools built for billions, anyone can scale up their business. We are entering the age of “micro-multinationals,” where a smart business idea can go global at the swipe of a finger. Slip Sweet Shop in Kilkenny, for example, is Ireland’s number one e-commerce website in Ireland offering retro sweets. Brian Kenny has built up a business way beyond the Kilkenny boundary, with a dedicated following in countries as far away as Australia and the USA.”
Harris is keen to point out that it’s not just about getting traditional businesses on the web. He talks about how the internet has created a whole new industry: app developers, citing a recent report which showed that Android, Google’s mobile operating system, has created more than 1.2 million jobs in Europe – jobs, he says, that simply didn’t exist before the web.
“The innovation we are seeing in the mobile space is really exciting and is being driven by teams in the AppHub here in our EMEA HQ. The AppHub is a pan-EMEA Apps Centre of Excellence for Developers and we’re already seeing successes like KamaGames, a global developer and publisher of social games for mobile platforms, Steam, Xbox Live & Playstation Network, which announced last year that it’s expanding in Ireland and will create 100 jobs.”
“Stories like these are the reason we’re doubling our efforts to train 2 million people across Europe in digital skills. We’re seeing the enormous opportunities for economic development and social inclusion the internet is providing and we want the citizens of Europe and Ireland to have the skills to be able to benefit from those opportunities,” said Harris.