Today Google announced that it is hosting free workshops in Hawaii as part of the tech company’s nationwide ‘Grow with Google’ initiative. ‘Grow with Google’ aims to help create economic opportunity in communities across the United States by providing free training, tools, and expertise for people across their country to grow their skills, careers, and businesses.
Event Details:
Thursday, January 16; 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Kaimukī Public Library
1041 Koko Head Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Event website: https://events.withgoogle.com/join-google-in-hawaii/
“Ninety-eight percent of Hawaii’s businesses are small businesses, and we’re excited to bring free ‘Grow with Google’ workshops to the Islands that will focus specifically on how businesses can use digital tools and resources to grow,” said Erica Swanson, Google’s Head of Community Engagement. “In addition, given how critical technology skills are to the digital economy, we are excited to teach local jobseekers and workers new ways to use technology to grow their careers.”
Throughout the day Google staff will teach a variety of hands-on workshops aimed to provide local businesses and residents with tools and resources to find the jobs they want, advance their careers and grow their businesses. Attendees are welcome to pre-register for specific workshops, or drop in and sign up for one-on-one 20-minute training sessions with Google staff for everything from how to set up an email account, to ways they can advertise their business, or create a resume.
Local nonprofits — libraries, government agencies, educational institutions and more — will also be invited to join the ‘Grow with Google’ partner program; a free network for local organizations that provides a range of training content, tools, and promotional materials, and best practices to continue sharing ‘Grow with Google’ resources with their community.
Public libraries have been natural and valuable partners in bringing ‘Grow with Google’ resources to communities across the United States. 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.
“We are living in a digital world that requires new skills to be able to connect and thrive,” said Stacey Aldrich, state librarian. “We are excited to partner with Google to ensure that our communities have opportunities to learn, grow, and be successful.” “Our library users are always eager to embrace new opportunities to learn and develop new skills,” said Lea Domingo, branch manager of the Kaimuki Public Library. “We hope that this partnership with ‘Grow with Google’ will enable our communities to develop necessary digital skills to thrive in an increasingly digital and global world.”
Last year, ‘Grow with Google’ committed $1 million to the American Library Association to fund the Libraries Lead with Digital Skills initiative. During the event on January 16, applications will open for Hawaii libraries to apply for grants from the American Library Association, sponsored by ‘Grow with Google,’ so that they can grow or begin their digital skills programs.
In their 2018 Economic Impact Report, Google announced that 4,500 Hawaii businesses, website publishers, and nonprofits benefitted from Google tools and that it helped provide $226 million of 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.
To learn more about the free event and to register, visit g.co/GrowHawaii. Space will be limited; so please register in advance.
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.