Dive Brief:
- In an effort to address an IT talent gap, Google has announced it will offer 10,000 free scholarships to American workers and students, regardless of whether they ultimately work for Google, Quartz at Work reports.
- The program is modeled after the company's internal IT training program and Google plans to hire from the pool of those who complete the course, Quartz reports, although most are expected to end up working elsewhere.
- A spokesperson from Coursera told Quartz that paying to train employees who may never work at your company will be an emerging recruiting trend, as more companies are expected to offer similar arrangements through the platform in 2018.
Dive Insight:
The need to address the talent gap in the U.S., particularly in the computer science fields, has brought about some creative solutions from employers, governments and schools. Digital credentialing has become a viable option for some, while others have turned to bootcamp classes.
Employers also are looking for ways to train and recruit workers for jobs that don’t even exist yet. As fields like AI and cybersecurity evolve faster than degree programs can adapt, employers are realizing they'll have to create talent pools themselves if they want to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.
