Google and Connecticut launch certificate program for IT, data analytics at colleges and universities

Connecticut and Google announced Friday a partnership that would make the state the first in the U.S. to offer certificates to workers trained in information technology, data analytics and other areas through the state’s universities, colleges and community colleges.

The certificates are available on the online learning platform Coursera, which equips workers with skills in three to six months, with no degree or experience required. Connecticut is the first state to offer Google Career Certificates in the state colleges and universities system.

It’s now available to all community colleges and career and technical education high schools across the nation. Google is working with Connecticut State Colleges and Universities to bring the Google Career Certificate to all 12 community colleges, said Ruth Porat, chief financial officer at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

“When you look at exciting jobs today and jobs in the future, they require digital skills training,” she said at a presentation at Middlesex Community College in Middletown that brought together Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s former education commissioner.

About 10 million jobs are available in the U.S. and many require some form of digital skills training, Porat said.

Initially, Google focused on information technology support jobs to bring workers into the tech company, but then created the certificate program, “a credential, something people can take with them,” she said.

Terrence Cheng, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, said four-credit courses in the Google suite of lessons will be offered beginning next year.

After completing the program, graduates can share their resumes with a consortium of more than 150 companies, including Infosys, Verizon, Walmart, Wayfair and Google. Infosys has pledged to hire 250 program graduates at its Hartford location, according to Google and the state.

CSCU will partner with the Office of Workforce Strategy to help initially subsidize these programs for students and job seekers.

Lamont said as many as 70,000 jobs are unfilled in Connecticut, but the state Department of Labor said the number can be tens of thousands more. The COVID-19 pandemic scrambled labor markets as many businesses shut and workers drifted away, finding other opportunities and not returning when the businesses reopened.

As a result, labor economists say a skills mismatch has plagued the U.S. labor force for months. Employers in businesses as diverse as supermarkets and manufacturers are scrambling to find employees.

Information is available at at ct.edu/google.

Stephen Singer can be reached at ssinger@courant.com.