El Paso Community College (EPCC) announced its participation in the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program. The initiative will help Latino students at 35 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) prepare for the workforce through digital skills training and career workshops. Through a $2 million investment in the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the program will train 200,000 Latino students by 2025.
“The Google Career Readiness Opportunity has helped to merge the instructional component of education with the career services, allowing to engage students in different capacities at the community college level," said Christian Servin, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Science. “We have students from different areas of study interested in building academic capacities through the Google modules. This serves the community of El Paso, Juarez, and Las Cruces."
“El Paso Community College is committed to helping advance Latino Students academically and professionally," William Serrata, Ph.D. President of El Paso Community College said. “We are thankful for Google's investment in students and are proud to be a part of Grow with Google's HSI Career Readiness program to help our students learn the digital skills they need for the future."
In partnership with HACU, the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program launched in January 2022 and provides HSI career centers with funding and a semester-long in-person and online digital skills program. HACU has a track record of increasing access to education in the Latino community, and two-thirds of Latino college students in the U.S. attend one of its member institutions. The initiative combines career workshops, career counseling, and programming on design thinking, project management, and professional brand building. The participating schools will also create additional material tailored to student needs.
“Hispanic-Serving Institutions are key in educating and training students to succeed in the current and future economy, especially in light of the competitive job market," said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “Our partnership with Google on this initiative, which is expanding to 12 more HSIs, will ensure they graduate with the skills and training that prepare them for the digital workplace."
“Every student should have the opportunity to learn digital skills for today's in-demand jobs," said Tia McLaurin, Community Engagement Manager, Google. "We're proud to work with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities to bring the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program to El Paso Community College to help more students prepare for the workforce and thrive as they start their careers."
Google's latest commitments build on over $35M provided to date to expand economic opportunity in the Latino community. Since 2013, the company's Google in Residence program has partnered with HSIs and HBCUs to place Google software engineers in schools as faculty, and the company also hosts Tech Exchange, a virtual student exchange program that teaches HSI and HBCU students applied for computer science courses.
For more information, please visit Grow.Google.com.
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