NATIONWIDE – Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced, February 17, a new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund to assist with the tuition – $39 a month, to obtain a Google Certificate in project management, IT support, data analytics, UX design or Android development. When applying for a position with Google, the 6 month program certifications are seen as an equivalent to a four-year college degree.

“The goal is to enable Social Finance to reach more than 20,000 American workers,” said Pichai. “It’s all designed around student success. They will receive all of this at no upfront cost. And will only pay it back once they find a job earning at least $40,000 a year. Social Finance will then redistribute those repayments to future learners, making this model more sustainable.”

Not only are the certifications acceptable for a position with Google, the company also works with 150 other companies to help certificate holders with job placement.

Coursera currently hosts the course online with nonprofits Merit America and Year Up coming onboard to assist with career coaching, living stipends and job placement support. Coursera provides financial aid for the certificate program as well.

According to their website, Google certificate holders start at $63,600 average salary for entry-level roles and there are currently 1,300,000 in-demand job openings across certificate fields. The online course can be completed in under 10 hours a week.

“We want to help more people access these Certificates, especially in underserved communities,” said Pichai. “It’s another promising example of how the entire ecosystem — from private companies to nonprofits — can work together to help more Americans access economic opportunities.”

For more information about the Google Career Certificates visit https://grow.google/certificates/#?modal_active=none