25/03/2021
FSG
Google—in collaboration with Fundae, SEPE and a range of NGOs, including Fundación Secretariado Gitano, and with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy— announced the launch of 5,000 new scholarships for specialised online training in IT Support. The idea behind these scholarships is to promote the acquisition of digital skills and prepare workers for the future labour market
The collaboration between Fundación Secretariado Gitano and Google will allow a group of ten young Roma to receive comprehensive training in IT, whereby they will obtain the “Google IT Support Professional Certificate” and open themselves up to a range of employment and training opportunities.
Receiving this qualification from a company like Google, in addition to create a path towards specialised jobs in the field of ICT, allows students to forge their own success stories and boosts the aspirations of young people and their relationship with the technological labour market. Initiatives of this present time, as they help to curb the digital divide affecting the Roma community, whose members have difficulty accessing technology, technical resources and specialised knowledge and technological skills. For instance, 40% of Roma students consulted during the confinement period either did not have access to the Internet or had limited data.
Accessing the scholarships
The scholarships will be distributed by Fundae, SEPE and—thanks to the collaboration with INCO—other NGOs, including Fundación Secretariado Gitano, to persons who are either unemployed or at risk of social exclusion or vulnerability. Interested persons will have to apply directly through Fundae, SEPE and the collaborating NGOs, who will disseminate the initiative through their respective participant databases. Selections will be made by order of application and favouring equity between men and women.
As highlighted by the Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz at the launch event for these scholarships: “We need IT skills and competencies, such as those provided by the programme that brings us here today. This retraining of workers and companies will strengthen inclusiveness and integration in the face of the important technological change we are now experiencing. This has been the case for more than one million workers who have been able to access training programmes during their temporary labour force adjustment plan”.
According to Isidro Rodríguez, Managing Director of Fundación Secretariado Gitano, “this collaboration with Google offers FSG the opportunity to continue moving forward hand-in-hand with a leading company in the technology training sector, an area in which we have been working for some time within the scope of our employment programme Acceder. Having partners like Google to boost our programme of free training in digital skills will enable us to help more people meet the employment demands brought on by technological innovation”.
