Google’s online program, ‘Maharat min Google’, that teaches digital skills available in Arabic, is expanding in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region with new collaborations.
Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, is granting 300,000 USD to Emirates Foundation, a nonprofit organization in the UAE, which will roll out digital skills trainings to 5,000 unemployed youth in rural areas and underserved communities. The aim is to help them prepare for, and secure, jobs.
Google.org is also granting 350,000 USD to Education for Employment Foundation (EFE), in order to improve job readiness capacity for 1,500 unemployed Egyptian youth. In collaboration with different universities across the country, EFE will offer digital skills in-person trainings in addition to career coaching sessions.
The International Computer Driving License (ICDL Arabia) in collaboration with Google is launching a joint marketing certification program designed to help youth in Egypt find jobs, grow their careers or start their own businesses.
The program offers a curriculum about digital skills in Arabic combining ‘Maharat min Google’, alongside ICDL’s existing digital marketing certification program. Endorsed by the Ministry of Higher Education, ICDL Arabia will conduct in-person trainings to more than 10,000 students across universities and vocational institutes in Egypt.
Collaborations with Emirates Foundation, EFE and ICDL Arabia will target 50 percent female participation. Google is looking for further local partnerships across the region with governments, universities, private-sector businesses and nonprofits to expand the reach of its ‘Maharat min Google’ program.
Udacity, online learning platform, in collaboration with Google launched ‘Digital Freelancer Nanodegree’ program, designed for students to learn the skills and tools needed to launch successful freelance careers. The program can be accessed online, through the official website, and includes ‘Maharat min Google’ case studies and other accredited learning materials.
“Earlier this year, we set out to do our part to fill this gap through ‘Maharat Min Google’, the all-Arabic online platform that is a free one stop shop on everything from building a website to marketing your business around the world. We’ve been working with partners to help all Arabic speakers, whether in work, studying or unemployed, to grow their skills, careers, and businesses through our digital skills program. We are proud that 100,000 have taken the course so far, and we are excited to expand the program in the region in 2019 and see what great things people can do when given the right tools and skills,” said Tarek Abdalla, Regional Head of Marketing, Middle East & North Africa at Google.
‘Maharat min Google’ has 100 lessons across 26 core topics in digital marketing that include search engine marketing, social media, video, ecommerce and data analytics among others. Since launch in April, more than 100,000 Arabic speakers took the online course, and have spent more than 560,0000 hours on the portal.
The highest number of participations came from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and Algeria. Youth in the Arab world (25-34) were among the highest in terms of participation. Additionally, people above 45 have also been visiting Maharat min Google and they make up 20 percent of total visits.
