Google brings economic opportunity initiative to Texas

Austin, Texas -- Today, Google announced that it is coming to two cities in Texas as part of the tech company’s ‘Grow with Google’ initiative. ‘Grow with Google’ aims to help create economic opportunity in communities across the United States by providing free training, tools and expertise for people across the country to grow their skills, careers and businesses.

Texas tour dates, cities and locations include: January 21 at the Austin Central Library in Austin and January 24 at the Kellar Public Library in Kellar. The event is from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. at both locations.

“Google has called Texas home since 2007, when we opened our Austin office. The upcoming ‘Grow with Google’ workshops will build upon the past 13 years of investment in the Lone Star State and help forge even stronger bonds with local communities,” said Lauren Lambert, Google’s head of public policy and government relations, Southwest.  “Texas has one of the fastest growing economies in the country, bolstered by their strong small business community, and we want to do our part to ensure Texans continue to thrive.”

In their 2018 Economic Impact Report, Google announced that 119,000 businesses in Texas generated $20.8 billion dollars in economic activity by using Google’s search and advertising tools.  

Throughout the day, Google staff will teach a variety of hands-on workshops aimed to provide local businesses and residents with tools and resources to find the jobs they want, advance their careers and grow their businesses. Attendees are welcome to pre-register for specific workshops, or drop in and sign up for one-onone 20-minute training sessions with Google staff for everything from how to set up an email account, to ways they can advertise their business, or create a resume.  

Local nonprofits—libraries, government agencies, educational institutions and more—will also be invited to join the ‘Grow with Google’ partner program; a free network for local organizations which provides a range of training content, tools and promotional materials, and best practices to continue sharing ‘Grow with Google’ resources with their community.

Public libraries have been natural and valuable partners in bringing ‘Grow with Google’ resources to communities across the United States. According to the American Library Association, nearly three-quarters of libraries already have job development programming in place, and 90% are helping patrons learn basic digital skills.  Last year, ‘Grow with Google’ committed $1 million to the American Library Association to fund the Libraries Lead with Digital Skills initiative. The ‘Grow with Google’ workshops will kick off a grant opportunity for Texas libraries to enhance their community digital skills programing. Applications for Texas open January 21.  

“One of Austin Public Library’s priorities is to support workforce and economic development in our community. Thanks to this amazing partnership with ‘Grow with Google,’ the library can bring together small business owners, job seekers, and non-profit organizations, to learn about and expand on the digital skills they need to be successful. We are thrilled to be able to support the people and organizations in Austin this way!” Director Roosevelt Weeks, Austin Public Library Director.

“The Keller Public Library thrives on innovation and creativity, so we’re thrilled to be partnering with ‘Grow with Google’ in pursuit of our mission to champion lifelong learning,” Director Jana Prock said. “The digital skill workshops we’ve selected will help grow our residents, whether they’re applying for jobs, trying to better manage their time or getting a new business venture off the ground.”

To learn more about the free event and to register, visit g.co/GrowTexas. Space will be limited; so please register in advance.

About ‘Grow with Google’  

‘Grow with Google’ draws on Google’s 20-year history of building products, platforms, and services that help people and businesses grow. Through this initiative, we aim to help everyone across America--those who make up the workforce of today and those who will drive the workforce of tomorrow--access the best of Google’s training and tools to grow their skills, careers, and businesses. For more information, please visit Google.com/grow .