Google Trends show a record number of people are searching for information about career changes and age 50 is one of the top 3 most searched ages together with “career change”
- Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, joins local business owners and individuals at Google’s in-person Skills to Go training event in Manchester city-centre today
- The event follows the launch of Skills to Go – a bitesize digital skills training campaign – which aims to help Brits gain valuable skills which could be used to help people further their careers or grow their businesses.
- Google is working with Ian Wright, Steven Bartlett, Patricia Bright and Holly Tucker to help people use daily pockets of potential time to learn a new skill.
- Google’s new, free Skills to Go training content teaches skills to help with switching careers, CV writing, and starting a business to support people looking to increase their earnings.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham is teaming up with Google to offer a new refreshed in-person digital skills training event at the Central Convention Complex in Manchester today as part of a national tour.
The new, shorter, power training sessions give people right across the country the option to quickly gain valuable skills and receive one-to-one mentorship to help achieve career progression or realise their business goals.
This event brings to life content from Google’s recently launched Skills to Go campaign. The content features Ian Wright and Steven Bartlett and encourages Brits to use pockets of time throughout the day to learn valuable new digital skills which could help people across the UK to earn more money, get a new job or grow their business. Skills to Go training courses are available for all to view online by searching ‘Google Skills Training’.
Google’s free “Skills to Go” bite-size training content can be easily completed on the go, during daily pockets of time, such as while walking the dog, commuting or getting a haircut. The short bursts of content provide tips on a range of topics including, how to start a business, write a CV and be your own boss. They have been developed in response to data which reveals that in the North West of England, lack of time is the number one barrier stopping people from learning new skills which could help them find new jobs, further their career or grow a business. This is closely followed by a concern about the cost of training courses.
Government figures highlight the country’s digital skills shortage, and show that almost half (46%) of the UK’s employers are struggling to recruit for digital roles and many workers are unable to find suitable digital skills training, despite their interest in upskilling. The Hidden Middle report suggests that 11.8 million people of working age are still without the Essential Digital Skills (EDS) for life and work, this represents 36% of the UK workforce. It’s clear that whilst digital and tech has become part of our everyday lives, at work and at home, not everyone is able to benefit from the opportunities digital can bring.
Google’s new bitesize training courses teach a range of valuable skills which help to give people the skills needed to thrive in these roles and grow their businesses.
The Skills to Go series, which can be easily completed while doing routine tasks, aims to help make digital skills training more accessible to people who are short on time but eager to learn skills which can help them to increase their earnings. Google Search trends show a +5000% increase in the number of people searching for how to make more money. Searches for “how to change career” also hit a record high this year, and “change career at 50” jumped by +100% and was one of the top 3 most searched ages on this topic.
Greater Manchester is the fastest growing tech cluster outside of London and last year there were over 50,000 tech jobs advertised. This event is just one of the ways that Google is working with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to help tackle the digital skills gap, with Andy Burnham announcing that Google will be providing GMCA with 500 Google Career Certificates to distribute to local people looking to enter a career in tech or change direction. Distribution will focus on underrepresented groups in tech such as women, ethnic minorities and people with a disability.
Google Career Certificates prepare people to start jobs in high-growth career areas such as IT Support, UX Design, Project Management , Data Analytics & Digital Marketing & eCommerce.
Alice Mansergh, Managing Director of Google Customer Solutions, UK & Ireland: “At Google, we’re passionate about equipping people in Manchester and every corner of the country with the skills needed to help them make the most of the opportunities created by the UK’s digital economy. The labour market is crying out for talented individuals across a number of experience levels and our aim with our snackable Skills to Go campaign is to give more people the opportunity to gain skills that can truly transform their careers and businesses.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, speaking from Google’s and skills training event in Manchester today said: “In Greater Manchester, we want to ensure our people, whatever their age, location or situation, can benefit from the opportunities digital brings, including equipping residents with the skills they need alongside supporting those wanting to future proof their employability. It’s great to see businesses such as Google taking real action to tackle this important issue facing our region. I’m also pleased to see the importance of digital inequality recognised through this work. The consequences of not doing so are severe – with our people at risk of further social isolation, lack of equal opportunities and not being able to access support.”
Google’s skills offering ranges from the easily digestible bite sized skills videos which can be completed in as little as 5 minutes, such as tips for CV drafting – a topic which has seen a 985% increase in searches – to Google Career Certificates, which take on average 6 months to complete. These more in-depth courses aim to support lifelong learning by helping to provide an accessible pathway into high-growth, well-paid tech fields such as in Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, IT Support, Project Management and User Experience Design.
Since launching our Digital Garage training programme in Leeds in 2015, we have visited more than 500 locations up and down the country and have provided digital skills training to more than 800,000 people. Digital Garage offers individuals and business owners the opportunity to take part in 1 to 1 mentorship sessions or learn about digital marketing to help them advance their careers or boost their businesses. This year we’re visiting 22 locations to help get Britain growing.
