Pueblo Mayor Nicholas Gradisar on-hand to address, empower participants
PUEBLO, CO – Visiting Google presenters and coaches hosted free ‘Grow with Google’ workshops today at Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library, with onsite instruction provided to local jobseekers, small business, and nonprofit leaders on integral digital skills necessary in today’s business environment. Grow with Google is the tech company’s initiative to help create economic opportunities for all Americans.
“We’re excited to have helped Pueblo residents learn new skills through in-person ‘Grow with Google’ workshops that bring to life some of the professional skills that are critical in today’s digital economy. To extend the impact of today’s event, we also trained representatives from libraries, schools, and nonprofits across the region so that they can share these free resources with their communities going forward,” said Lauren Lambert, Google’s Head of External Affairs for the Southwest U.S.
Google worked with Pueblo organizations to attract attendees for a full day of workshops sharing how local businesses and residents can use free Google tools and resources to find the jobs they want, advance their careers and grow their businesses. Pueblo nonprofits - libraries, government agencies, educational institutions and more - were also introduced to the Google Partner Program; a free network for local organizations which provides a range of training content, tools and promotional materials and best practices to continue sharing ‘Grow with Google’ resources with their community. ‘Grow with Google’ currently has over 5,000 partner organizations enrolled nationwide, and is growing with each workshop.
Mayor Nicholas Gradisar was on site at today’s event in support of Google’s digital training efforts.He said, “Our office looks forward to taking part in future events like this, and working with Google and the Pueblo City-County Library District to ensure Pueblo has the most tech-savvy workers and businesses in the country.”
This week, at the Grow with Google event in Boulder, Google also announced the launch of the Google.org Impact Challenge Colorado, which invites nonprofits throughout the state to submit proposals for bold ideas to grow economic opportunity in their local communities. Together with a panel of local judges, Google will review the applications and choose five winners who will receive $175,000 in grant funding and training from Google. After the five winners are announced, Coloradans will be invited to vote on which project they believe will have the greatest economic impact. The winner of that public vote will receive an additional $125,000 in funding. In total, Google.org will grant $1 million to local nonprofit organizations.
The stop in Pueblo is part of a broader Grow with Google national effort to bring in-person ‘Grow with Google’ workshops to job seekers and small businesses across the country. Specifically, ‘Grow with Google’ aims to help address the skills gap by preparing Americans for middle-skill jobs, which typically require technical knowledge, but not necessarily four-year degrees. Since launching in October, 2017, ‘Grow with Google’ has trained more than three million Americans across 38 states and 73 cities or towns.
Public libraries have been natural and valuable partners in bringing ‘Grow with Google’ resources to communities across the country. According to the American Library Association, nearly three-quarters of libraries already have job development programming in place and 90% are helping patrons learn basic digital skills. Beginning August 26, libraries in Colorado will be able to apply for funds to kickstart their own digital skills programming. Last year, Grow with Google committed $1 million in microgrants to libraries across the country, through their partnership with the American Library Association.
“Information technology skills are key to economic success today,” said Jon Walker, Executive Director of Pueblo City-County Library District. “This is why I am so pleased Google is partnering with Pueblo City-County Libraries. Our public libraries offer a strong tradition for encouraging and supporting lifelong learning for members of our community, and Grow with Google is a great fit in leveraging Google's world-class tech expertise with our libraries' educational reach into the community."
In their 2018 Economic Impact Report, Google announced that 39,000 organizations in the state generated $4.77 billion in economic activity by using Google’s search and advertising tools. The full report details Google’s economic impact state-by-state, and features the stories of businesses fueling that growth, creating job opportunities, and transforming their communities.
About ‘Grow with Google’
Grow with Google draws on Google’s 20-year history of building products, platforms, and services that help people and businesses grow. Through this initiative, we aim to help everyone across America – those who make up the workforce of today and those who will drive the workforce of tomorrow – access the best of Google’s training and tools to grow their skills, careers, and businesses. For more information, please visit Google.com/Grow.