Google is scaling up its digital skills training programs to accommodate a million Africans in the next year, aiming to deal with high unemployment numbers on the continent.
The U.S. tech giant plans to train 300,000 people in South Africa, a country where 35 percent of 15- to 34-year-olds are unemployed.
About 400,000 Nigerians and 200,000 Kenyans will receive free digital training, while another 100,000 people will be selected from other sub-Saharan Africa countries.
“Google is in Africa for the long haul, and we are making an investment in talent,” said Google South Africa country head Luke Mckend. “We hope that the people trained will become pioneers in the field and do great things in digital for companies and for Google.”
He said more needed to be done to support people in Africa in order to succeed in the digital world.
“The Internet offers huge opportunities to start new businesses and grow existing ones, and we’re committed to helping Africans make the most of the digital revolution,” he said.
The company has partnered with Livity Africa to develop training programs and is rolling out a new online education portal for learners in the region.
“We’re also talking to a number of other potential partners across Africa with a view to scaling the digital skills training program and helping to reach even more young people in more countries,” Google said in a statement.
African Internet bandwidth increased 41 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to a TeleGeography Global Internet Geography report. Research conducted by Google suggests Africa will have 500 million Internet users by 2020.
Large U.S. tech companies such as Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., Apple, and Facebook have been under public scrutiny globally for the relatively low tax payments they make outside the United States.
Partly to shore up their credentials as good corporate citizens, the companies have often funded free education programs and touted the number of jobs their businesses helped create.
