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Google and Connecticut partner to offer training in information tech

The state of Connecticut has partnered with Google to offer training in information technology skills, leading to a Google Career Certificate.

Students can take the courses at all community colleges and career and technical education high schools across the nation as part of the program.

The goal is to train workers for “information technology related sectors [that] have reported a skills gap in the U.S. workforce,” according to a press release from Gov. Ned Lamont.

Students can be ready to move into careers with $60,000 annual salaries after three to six months of training in data analytics, IT support, project management and UX design fields, all of which are expected to need an increasing number of workers in the next decade.

More than 150 companies are participating including  Infosys, Verizon, Walmart, Wayfair, and Google. Infosys has pledged to hire 250 program graduates at its Hartford location.

Through the College of Technology, all Connecticut community colleges will offer credit courses that will include Google Career Certificate courses beginning in spring 2022. Non-credit courses will also be offered regionally using the community colleges’ workforce development offices, with the roll out of the Google IT Support certificate in spring 2022. Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU)will partner with the Office of Workforce Strategy to help initially subsidize these programs for students and job seekers.

According to the press release, 82% of graduates of the Google program “report a positive career impact within six months of completion, such as a raise, promotion, or new job.”

For more information about the certificates, go to g.co/grow/GoogleCareerCertificates or CSCU’s website at www.ct.edu/google.

Cynthia Hochswender

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