Google To Train 1 Million Africans In Digital Programs

Somewhere in Lagos this morning, someone would be on their way to the computer village in Ikeja for business whether it be buying or selling. Often times, the people of the computer village have certain tech skills your regular IT staff in many organisations do not possess. But this doesn’t mean they’ll ever earn the salary of some of their blue collar counterparts primarily because they lack “formal” training that would ordinarily have earned them a certificate. This is the same across the continent from Lagos to Nairobi and the Johannesburg. With institutions like Andela partnering with local developers to certify them and connect to jobs, more people now see the need for training and this is what Goolge aims to do across the continent in the months ahead.

Google is partnering with Livity Africa to train up to a million Africans amid high unemployment rates across the continent. People will be trained in various digital skills that would broaden their digital horizon. According to the report from Bloomberg,  The U.S. tech giant plans to train 300,000 people in South Africa, it said in a statement Tuesday, a country where 35 percent of 15-to-34-year-olds are unemployed. A further 400,000 Nigerians and 200,000 Kenyans will receive free digital training, while another 100,000 people will be selected from other sub-Saharan Africa countries.

According to information posted on the Livity Africa digify Africa website, Digify Pro is an innovative training journey that intends to create the next generation of job-ready digital upstarts. Our trainees are put through their paces in an intensive three-month process in a real workplace. The training programme sharpens digital skills and vocational training and prepares candidates to be job-smart and work-ready. Currently running in Johannesburg and Cape Town,  the programme offers a wide-range of practical workshops on digital campaigns, social media and content creation, as well as training on Google Search, AdWords, YouTube and Analytics. Finally, we develop participants’ professional skills, preparing them for their ideal digital job, and helping to place graduates into full time jobs or internships upon programme completion.

This training is all part of a global program by Goolge to train people in various digital programs.

While jobs may be generally threatened by automation and advances in computer technology like Artificial Intelligence, most core tech jobs will continue to be in demand and retraining is key in preparing people for the future in  many cases.