Google Offers Digital Skills Training to Thousands of Formerly Incarcerated Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Participants
CEO has integrated Grow With Google initiative into job readiness training to create economic mobility for participants in 31 cities across the country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Bari Samad | [email protected] | 619-343-6509
November 17, 2022 — The Center for Employment Opportunities, (CEO), a national nonprofit that provides employment services to people returning from jail or prison, has partnered with Google to provide digital skills programs to advance economic opportunities for its thousands of participants across the country. In June, Google shared it is investing $4 million toward a new fund that aims to expand its justice reform work.
More than 600,000 Americans leave incarceration each year and face higher jobless rates than the U.S. average. The lack of technology in prison creates further barriers to employment, as digital skills are increasingly essential in the current job market. Since launching in April 2021, Grow with Google’s justice-impacted program has helped more than 90,000 people impacted by incarceration obtain digital skills.
“Foundational digital skills are essential in today’s workforce and even more so for our participants who face tremendous barriers to employment during reentry,” said Samra Haider, President of the Center for Employment Opportunities. “We are excited to continue our partnership with Google and scale Grow With Google digital skills training into our job-readiness programming at all 31 locations across the country. We aim to deliver the training to over 5,000 justice-impacted individuals by the end of 2023 to further support them in achieving economic mobility.”
“As we work to create a more inclusive economy, we’re committed to helping people impacted by incarceration access training for today’s jobs,” said Tia McLaurin, Senior Manager, Grow with Google. “We’re proud to work with outstanding partners to ensure more people can qualify for great jobs and create a new beginning for themselves and their families.”
The Grow With Google program’s training includes five learning paths that Google developed in collaboration with nonprofit partners: (1) Getting Started with the Basics, (2) Job Search, (3) Job Readiness, (4) Online Safety, and (5) “Next Step” Job Readiness Skills. Lessons vary from fundamental digital skills such as how to apply for jobs online and create a resumé, to more advanced topics including entrepreneurship and business budgeting. Partners will integrate this curriculum into their existing programs to help people develop skills that will help them get a job or start a business.
To date, Google has given over $48 million in Google.org grants and committed 50,000 pro bono hours to advance criminal justice reform. Learn more about how Google is expanding access to digital skills training to support individuals who have been impacted by incarceration: grow.google/justice-impacted
About the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to people recently released from incarceration. CEO currently operates in over 30 cities and is dedicated to ensuring that justice-impacted job seekers have opportunities to achieve social and economic mobility. For more information please visit: https://ceoworks.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
