Career Readiness Training

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Today Northeastern State University announced its participation in the Grow with Google Indigenous Career Readiness Program. The initiative helps prepare Native students at more than 50 Native-serving organizations for the workforce through digital skills training and career workshops. By providing $1 million to the Partnership With Native Americans to embed the program in schools, Google aims to help train 10,000 Native students on digital skills and career readiness by 2025.

“In our increasingly digital economy, tech training and job-readiness skills are critical to student success,” said Oklahoma Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell. “The Google Career Readiness program at Northeastern State University will help connect our outstanding students to those tools and more, helping ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.”

“We are so excited to kick off this project with the Grow with Google and Partnerships with Native Americans organizations,” NSU Director of the Center of Tribal Studies Sara Barnett said. “Our students will benefit greatly from the curriculum offered through this online platform and it complements the work we are already doing in preparing students for their professional careers. From digital literacy to entrepreneurship, this curriculum has something for every student, freshmen to senior."

As part of Google’s commitment to supporting Native American jobseekers, the program partners with native-serving organizations to help students develop the digital skills they need to find and secure internships and jobs that will help them build successful careers. Over the next four years, the partnership with Native Americans will provide curriculum and trainers at Tribal Colleges and Universities, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, high schools, and vocational programs.

Learning paths available to students as part of the curriculum include: building digital skills, exploring career paths, landing a job, job success and starting a business. Students can complete one or more of the paths.

Barnett said the digital literacy skills pathway focuses on helping students using Google apps and tools more effectively. There is also an opportunity to earn Google Career Certificates.

She said other pathways are more focused on helping students identify a career path and prepare for the transition into the workforce. This includes covering topics such as researching career paths, creating a career plan, networking, writing a resume and cover letter, managing projects, presenting to organizational stakeholders, researching business opportunities and writing a business plan.

Barnett encouraged students to consider doing this training, adding it can provide an edge over competitors when applying for jobs and it is accessible from the comfort of their own home. NSU Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Dr. Jerrid Freeman said employers emphasize the importance of soft skills.

“From Career Services' point of view, we believe the more conversations around career topics like this are a part of campus culture, the better prepared students will be as they enter the workforce,” Freeman said.

To learn more, individuals should contact the Center for Tribal Studies at 918-444-4350 or email Barnett at barnet11@nsuok.edu.

“Every student should have the opportunity to learn digital skills for today's in-demand jobs," said Tia McLaurin, Community Engagement Manager, Google. "We're proud to work with Partnership With Native Americans to bring the Google Indigenous Career Readiness Program to Northeastern State University and help more students prepare for the workforce."

“We are excited to partner with Google to launch the Grow with Google Indigenous Career Readiness Program. PWNA appreciates Google taking the initiative to bridge the digital divide in Indian Country. The gap that exists goes beyond the cable infrastructure, hardware, internet access, and extends to the technical skills for education and employment,” said Joshua Arce, President & CEO, Partnership With Native Americans. “Google has demonstrated their willingness to meet the students where they are at, with the tools that they have, to provide a best-in-service digital training program designed to increase technical proficiencies and employable skills for Native students. Grow with Google training translates into immediate incentives and adds technical skills to a student’s digital toolbox that they can build on in the future."

ABOUT GROW WITH GOOGLE
Grow with Google was started in 2017 to help Americans grow their skills, careers, and businesses. It provides training, tools, and expertise to help small business owners, veterans and military families, jobseekers and students, educators, startups, and developers. Since Grow with Google’s inception, it has helped more than eight million Americans develop new skills. Grow with Google has a network of more than 8,500 partner organizations like libraries, schools, small business development centers, chambers of commerce, and nonprofits to help people coast-to-coast.

ABOUT PWNA
Partnership With Native Americans is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to championing hope for a brighter future for Native Americans living on remote, isolated and impoverished reservations. Collaborating for nearly 30 years with our reservation partners, we provide consistent aid and services for Native Americans with the highest need in the U.S. Much of our work centers around material aid, educational support and community-based services. PWNA also connects outside resources directly to reservations through its distribution network and reservation partnerships. We care about quality of life for Native Americans and respect their self-determined goals for their tribes.