FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 15, 2021
Contact:
Anna Carron
anna.carron@berlinrosen.com
414-975-0733
Hispanic Federation and Google Bridge the Digital Divide in Latino Community
$1 million Google.org grant will support Hispanic Federation’s Latino Digital Accelerator, equipping the Latino workforce with the skills they need to succeed in the digital economy
NEW YORK—Hispanic Federation (HF) and Google.org today announced that they will deepen their partnership to bridge the digital divide in the Latino community with a $1 million grant from Google.org. The grant will support HF’s Latino Digital Accelerator, which will provide Latino jobseekers with the skills they need to secure meaningful jobs in the digital economy. With this grant, Google.org’s funding for the Latino Digital Accelerator will total $3 million, which has allowed HF to strengthen institutions serving the Latino community with workforce development and digital training programs in both English and Spanish.
“If we want the Latino community to succeed in the 21st century economy, we need to give them the tools and resources they need to access and succeed in the digital economy and job market,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of the Hispanic Federation. “We thank Google.org for their partnership and their work bridging the digital divide in the Latino community. Together, we are building the workforce of tomorrow and an economy that works for everyone.”
In 2019, the Hispanic Federation launched the Latino Digital Accelerator program with a $2 million grant from Google.org to strengthen the capacity of 24 Latino-led and Latino-serving training programs, including The Knowledge House. Despite setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic and sheltering in place mandates, over 10,000 individuals have participated in the program, receiving an average of 35 hours of digital skills training and yielding over 1,100 jobs for the participants.
Google.org’s reinvestment of $1 million will help the Hispanic Federation reach an additional 6,000 Latino jobseekers over the next year while providing them access to workforce development and digital skill training programs. Participants can also complete training programs that equip them with a Google Career Certificate, increasing their marketability in the digital economy.
“We are committed to building a digital economy that is within reach for all people, especially groups that have historically faced some of the biggest roadblocks,” said Hector Mujica, Economic Opportunity Lead, Americas, at Google.org. “What we heard from community members was that they didn’t need to be shown the door of opportunity, what they needed were the tools to thrive once they walked through it. Together, these trainings, coaching sessions, and resources will help thousands of people land in-demand jobs, fast track their career growth, and secure liveable incomes, all of which builds up the creative and economic potential of entire communities.”
According to Brookings, nearly two-thirds of all new jobs created since 2010 required either high or medium level digital skills. Latinos make up 18% of the overall U.S. labor market and will account for one out of every two new workers entering the workforce by 2025, but also make up 35% of workers with no digital skills. Latinos also hold jobs that are at the highest risk of elimination due to automation of any identity group, at close to 60% (followed by African Americans at 50%). The Latino Digital Accelerator aims to address these disparities by preparing the Latino workforce for jobs requiring digital skills such as a data engineer, coder, and front-end web developer. These digital skills are also crucial for entrepreneurs who own a small business as well as administrative and traditional employment opportunities such as nursing.
