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Google digital training reaches milestone

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 27 Oct 2016
The online digital portal will help more people take advantage of the free training, says Google SA country director Luke Mckend.
The online digital portal will help more people take advantage of the free training, says Google SA country director Luke Mckend.

Over 500 000 young Africans have been trained in digital skills by Google since April.

The company launched its Digital Skills Africa programme in April to help counter high unemployment rates. It committed to train one million people across the continent within a year and has, six months later, reached the halfway mark.

The announcement was made alongside the launch of its online training portal for Africa.

"There are people across the continent who are unable to attend face-to-face training sessions and who want to acquire digital skills in their own time, from their phone or computer," says Google SA country director Luke Mckend.

"The online portal will make it possible for them to take advantage of the free digital skills training programme."

The portal offers 89 courses in three languages on a range of digital subjects, including Web analytics, social media management and mobile marketing.

Mckend says Google is grateful to partner organisations that have helped with training the half a million people.

"But we're only halfway towards our goal. As we mentioned when we launched the programme in April, we want anyone in Africa to be able to access digital skills training. Through this new online portal, more people will be able to gain the skills and knowledge to help them build and grow businesses and find and create new jobs," says Mckend.

Google says the Internet is a key aspect for growth in business in Africa and worldwide, "Estimates put its total GDP contribution in Africa at $300 billion within the coming decade," the company said in a statement.

The tech giant hopes the digital skills training initiative will help more young Africans access and create Web-based jobs, and contribute to the growth of Africa's digital economy.

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