A national program aimed at teaching people how to improve their digital skills reached Wyoming last week.
“Grow With Google” teams appeared at the Natrona and Laramie county libraries to lead classes in how people can use online tools to improve their computer skills, making them increasingly attractive to employers.
Officials with Grow With Google said a private study shows that eight out of 10 middle-skill jobs paying an average of $20 per hour now require some digital skills.
Google public affairs manager Katherine Williams said the classes help teach people how to find information that will help them find jobs or boost their own businesses.
“We’re looking to help educate folks on how they can get to that next level on their education so they can continue to grow with the economy as it does shift and change,” said Katherine Williams, a public affairs manager with Google.
Computers have become an increasingly important tool in business and Grow With Google helps people learn how to use that tool, she added.
“It’s increasingly important to understand, in today’s economy, how to use computers and the Internet to find information to further your career, to grow your small business,” she said.
Google has invested $1 billion in the program, which was launched in 2017, and usually partners with libraries to offer its courses.
Carey Hartmann, executive director of the Laramie County Library, said it made sense for Google to work with local libraries because that is where people go on their own to further their educations.
“And now we need to grow our digital skills and they’re changing so quickly that it’s natural for Google to want to parter with libraries and for libraries to want to partner with Google,” she said.
