PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Students at Community College of Philadelphia can train for tech jobs under the school’s new partnership with Google.
CCP is now offering students the opportunity to earn Google Career Certificates in e-commerce, project management, user experience design, cybersecurity, IT support and data analytics. No tech experience is necessary.
At the college Monday, Associate Provost Dr. Vance Gray said there were 2,000 entry-level jobs in Philadelphia last year across the certificate fields.
“This fits,” Gray said. “This will help us meet that need of ensuring that there is a livable wage potential for everyone that signs up for this program here in the city.”
Tuition for the Google program is $536.
“There are scholarships available for our students or for our community members that sign up,” Gray said. “Right now, we have a limited number of scholarships, but we are expanding that scholarship base.”
Google has had a certificate program available at eight of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities since 2023.
CCP graduate Jaquayvius Coleman earned his Google certification in IT support before enrolling at the college. He’s working at a web hosting company now.
“I feel like with the skills I’ve built up and the knowledge that I have gained from my current employment and my degree and certificates, will further enhance my employability in the future,” Coleman said. “The same skills I learned in that program, I apply every day to work. Literally. Every last one of them.”
Coleman says he plans to continue his education at Drexel University.
Gray says Google will teach the classes online at first, but eventually CCP faculty will take over.