January 26, 2022 (BRONX, NY) – Today, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College announced its participation in the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program. The initiative will help Latino students at over 20 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.
“Institutions like CUNY Bronx and Hostos Community Colleges have a long-standing history of helping members of our community, particularly students of color, build the foundations for a successful future,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15). “Through this partnership, students will have even more access to critical digital and job-readiness training that will help ensure they have access to good-paying jobs. I’m thrilled to see the Google Career Readiness program implemented in our community and look forward to its positive impact on our students and their futures.”
Latino workers face systemic barriers to economic opportunity, including a lack of access to digital skills training. Over 80% of U.S. jobs require digital skills, but 55% of Latinos have little to no digital skills training. Latinos are also overrepresented in jobs that are at the highest risk of elimination due to automation, furthering the need to upskill for an increasingly digital economy. Alongside partners, Google’s latest commitments aim to increase economic mobility in the Latino community by furthering access to the training and digital skills needed to obtain an in-demand job.
“On behalf of Hostos students and for the sake of the communities we serve, I thank profoundly the support received to establish the Grow with Google Career Readiness Program,” Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis shared. “Hostos takes immense pride in its historic role in transforming the lives of many by means of education. This initiative is an excellent addition to the good work taking place at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College each and every day."
In partnership with HACU, the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program will provide 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 will combine 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.
“Google is proud to work with leading Latino-serving organizations to advance access to digital skills and workforce training in the Latino community,” said Ana Corrales, Chief Operating Officer for Google’s Devices and Services. “Together with partners like the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, we aim to help bridge wealth and opportunity gaps for students and workers, so that everyone has an opportunity and inspiration to succeed in today’s digital economy.”
“Ensuring Hispanic-Serving Institutions have the resources available to help students excel in the workforce is crucial in today’s competitive job market,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “We are excited to partner with Google on this innovative initiative and collaborate with HSIs to offer career services for students to graduate with the digital skills and training that can expand their employment prospects.”
Google’s latest commitments build on over $35M provided to date to expand economic opportunity in the Latino community, including a recent$15 million commitment to help Latino entrepreneurs, job seekers and students succeed in today's economy. 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 computer science courses.
For more information, please visit
Grow.Google.com
ABOUT GROW WITH GOOGLE
Grow with Google was started in 2017 to help Americans grow their skills, careers, and businesses. It provides free training, tools, and expertise to help small business owners, veterans and military families, jobseekers and students, educators, startups, and developers. Since Grow with Google’s inception, it has helped more than seven million Americans develop new skills. Grow with Google has a network of more than 8,000 partner organizations like libraries, schools, small business development centers, chambers of commerce, workforce development boards and nonprofits to help people coast-to-coast.
ABOUT HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, founded in 1986, represents more than 500colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, Spain and school districts throughout the U.S. HACU is the only national association representing existing and emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The Association’s headquarters are in San Antonio, Texas, with regional offices in Washington, D.C and Sacramento, California.
About Hostos Community College
Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change, transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. Hostos serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, and a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. The College’s unique "student success coach" program, which partners students with individualized guidance, is emblematic of the premier emphasis on student support and services. Hostos offers 28 associate degree programs and 2 certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture (HCAC) is one of the pre-eminent Latino arts centers of the northeast. The HCAC has distinguished itself for showcasing traditional art forms as well as emerging and internationally renowned artists. Hostos Community College is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university serving more than 500,000 students at 25 colleges.