Google partners with Youngkin and offers AI training courses to Virginia job seekers

FILE - Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin speaks during an event in Richmond, Va., May 11, 2021. Photo by Steve Helber /AP

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RESTON, Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Tuesday that Google will partner with his administration to provide free and low-cost artificial intelligence certification courses to Virginians as part of his office’s ongoing effort to connect citizens to new jobs amid changes to the state’s economy.

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The partnership, which he has described as an AI career launchpad, will provide Google-sponsored AI training courses for up to 10,000 Virginians at any given time, officials said at Google’s office in the northern part of the state.

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The training opportunities will be listed on a job website that Youngkin launched earlier this year, in response to significant layoffs among federal workers by the Trump administration, including many workers from Virginia.

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“All fields, all career movements somewhere along the way, are going to incorporate this next generation of technology,” Youngkin said at the news conference.

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The initiative comes with unemployment rising in Virginia, which has roughly 20,400 continued unemployment claims, state Secretary of Labor George’ Bryan’ Slater said after the news conference. Roughly 2,800 people initially filed unemployment claims during the first week of July, which is about 6.1 percent higher than the previous week.

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The AI webpage will feature the free courses as well as some low-cost learning opportunities, ranging “from beginner friendly courses on AI fundamentals and practical workplace applications of artificial intelligence to bootcamps and degree programs offered by Virginia’s leading-edge community colleges and universities,” according to the governor’s office.

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Nicole Overley, commissioner of Virginia Works, said businesses have told her office that AI proficiency has become increasingly necessary in their industries. She said the training would help Virginians become competitive in the job markets where these very businesses are hiring.

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Overly confirmed that the training courses won’t cost taxpayers anything and are being donated by Google. Bronagh Friel, head of partnerships at Google, said she was proud of the collaboration with the state.

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“Google is committed to championing economic growth and opportunity in Virginia,” she said.

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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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