GRAND RAPIDS: A nonprofit in western Michigan is getting a boost from Google in its efforts to prepare underserved adults for careers in tech.
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Winton Steward, Google’s head of government affairs and public policy for the Great Lakes states, said in a press release that the tech company is proud of WMCAT’s work.
“Google has been offered in Michigan for more than 16 years, and we look forward to continuing our local partnerships to create greater impact within the state,” Steward said.
The WMCAT program is a four-day-a-week, seven-month course for underemployed and unemployed adults in Kent County, namely Black, Indigenous and other people of color.
The program will offer certifications in cloud security, GRC analysis, synthetic intelligence auditing, and face-to-face and truly virtual classes on the basics of children’s privacy.
“We know that, right now, the economic opportunities are in technology,” Jamon Alexander, WMCAT’s president and chief executive officer, said in the statement. supporting inclusive expansion in the region so that all families can thrive in the virtual economy. “
The first cohort of 12 other people begins in December and ends in July 2023.
Upon completion of their training, graduates will be eligible for jobs as data security analysts, a profession for which demand is expected to increase by 18% in the region through 2023, according to West Michigan Works!
Mid-career analysts earn an average hourly rate of $49. 33, or about $102,600 consistent with the year, for the Occupational Information Network.
In addition to being free, the cybersecurity and GRC program provides participants with a stipend, access to an emergency fund and on-site assistance with rates of good fortune, Alexander said.
“We perceive that other people have been underrepresented, so we need to make the access point to technology, and specifically cybersecurity, much more available than it has been,” Alexander told Crain’s in September when the program was announced.
Additional investment for the WMCAT program comes from a $559,522, 3-year grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
The Monroe County Opportunity Program, a networking company serving Monroe County, also won a $150,000 grant from Google last week. It will use investment in systems that interact with at-risk youth in emergency food distribution, mentoring young children and developing networked gardens.
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