From an INC.com exclusive:
This morning, Google is announcing the next steps in its plan to disrupt the world of education, including the launch of new certificate programs that are designed to help people bridge any skills gap and get qualifications in high-paying, high-growth job fields--with one noteworthy feature:
No college degree necessary.
The new tools could be a game changer for a growing number of people who consider the current educational system broken, or for the millions of Americans who are currently unemployed, much due to fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic has led to a truly horrible year," Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells Inc. in an interview. "But it has also created profound shifts along the journey to digital transformation in ways no one could have imagined."
The plan includes:
- The release of three new Google Career Certificates on Coursera in project management, data analytics, and user experience (UX) design
- A new Associate Android Developer Certification course
- Over 100,000 need-based scholarships
- Partnerships with more than 130 employers working with Google to hire graduates of its certificate program
- A new Google Search feature that makes it easier for people to find jobs for their education level, including no degree and no experience
Most enrollees will finish in six months or less, putting the cost at about $240 for U.S. students. Some may need only three months, cutting that cost in half. Google is offering 100,000 need-based scholarships in the U.S.
This is fascinating. However, it is unfortunate that it is being launched by Alphabet/Google which is known for its social justice warrior promotion. The programs seem to be mostly very tech-based which one would hope eliminates the SJW stuff. We shall see.
-RW
These certificates will do very little to disrupt the college degree. Coursera and many other MOOCs have offered similar programs for years, and they are generally more supplemental for the average consumer. I'd recommend checking out Lambda School if you want to see what a true disrupter looks like. The incentive structure is completely backwards from traditional colleges, and their success is inherently tied to their students' success.
ReplyDeleteAlison McDowell at https://wrenchinthegears.com/ discusses in detail what these education programs are for.
ReplyDeleteFinally some accreditation for the "internet expert".
ReplyDeleteSarcasm aside, it may be imperfect,but I'm all for disrupting the present industrial education complex
A while back Google and EY announced that they don't require college degrees to be hired, and this is another positive step (re Google, I guess even a broken analog clock is right twice a day). Even if they still teach SJW crap, pulling demand away from colleges is a positive, as they've been under no pressure to reform in any area.
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