Google and Goodwill Team up

Goodwill of NY/NJ and Google have teamed up to provide workforce development for those residents looking to enhance their tech skills to increase their chances of meaningful employment.

Google.org designated $10M in grants for a workforce development initiative with Goodwill Industries called the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator – including $300,000 for work with Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey.

This partnership program aims to bring about professional opportunities for Americans in the digital economy.

This program is part of a series of initiatives to develop our local tech sector, the most visible of which is the new Cornel Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island.

Monday’s event was part of Grow with Google, a new initiative to help create professional opportunities for Americans in the digital economy. Google has committed to providing 1,000 staff volunteers to lead digital skills training sessions around the nation, equipping employees with necessary skills for career advancement and future job placement. Google.org’s grant to Goodwill will support 125 Goodwills across the country over the next three years, and provide training to 1.2 million people.

Of the Digital Career Accelerator grant, Goodwill will allocate 70% of the resources for the digital skills program, with the remaining 30% going to Goodwill Industries International to provide tiered-support for expanding and upgrading their training efforts. Goodwill is the nation’s largest workforce development nonprofit.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are currently over six million job openings across the country. Additional data shows that nearly half of all jobs in the United States require basic digital skills (like computer support or programming capability), and that digital-based middle-skill jobs – jobs that don’t require a four year degree – are growing 2.5 times faster than other types of work, and offer 18% higher wages.

Richard Khuzami

Mr. Khuzami has been a member of Community Board 1 in Astoria, NY for the last 20 years. He sits on the Zoning and parks Committees and is on the Executive Board. Previously, he served as Parks and Culture chair of Community Board 1 for eleven years and also chaired Capital and Expense priority Committee. He is a member of the Queens General Assembly and had been a panelist for grant submissions for the Queens Council on the Arts (QCA). Richard also is an officer of The Eastern Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA) and President of OANA.