TLM is proud to partner with Google on the Grow With Google Career Readiness for Reentry program

As part of Second Chance Month, Google is announcing the Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry
program, an initiative to provide free digital skills and job readiness training to formerly incarcerated individuals.
The program is in partnership with five nonprofits who have successfully developed and delivered high-quality job
training to returning citizens: The Last Mile, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), Defy Ventures, Fortune
Society, and The Ladies of Hope Ministries. The program’s training will focus on fundamental digital skills such as
how to apply for jobs online and create a resume, along with more advanced topics including entrepreneurship and
business budgeting. In total, the program will train 10,000 participants this year.

Each year, 600,000 Americans transition out of incarceration and face barriers to reentering the workforce. The
unemployment rate for returning citizens is five times the national average, and returning citizens who are Black
experience an even higher jobless rate due to systemic racism. The increasingly digital nature of work presents
another challenge to workforce reentry. 82 percent of middle-skill jobs in the United States require digital skills,
making the employment process difficult for those who lost access to technology while in prison.

“Lack of access to digital skills training and job coaching puts formerly incarcerated individuals at a severe
disadvantage when trying to reenter the workforce and increase their economic potential,” said Malika Saada Saar,
Global Head of Human Rights at YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. “We are thrilled to work alongside program
partners who have demonstrated true expertise and leadership in supporting successful reentry through digital
skills training to men and women, mothers and fathers, impacted by incarceration.”

Grow with Google collaborated with the program’s nonprofit partners to identify the needs of returning individuals,
resulting in five Learning Paths: (1) Getting Started with the Basics, (2) Job Search, (3) Job Readiness, (4) Online
Safety, and (5) “Next Step” Job Readiness Skills. Partners will integrate this curriculum into their existing job
readiness programs and will provide job placement support to help place learners into paid apprenticeships and
entrepreneur-in-residence programs.

“Justice involved individuals often have major deficits when it comes to digital literacy. The pandemic exposed
these shortfalls in ways that were unimaginable before COVID. The Fortune Society is honored to partner with
Google to help our participants increase their digital literacy skills and capacity to secure and maintain sustainable
employment with a livable wage,” said Ronald F. Day, Ph.D., Vice President of Programs at The Fortune
Society. “Thanks to Google, our participants will be equipped to compete in this highly competitive job market.
When provided an opportunity our clients excel. This benefits our participants, their families, and the entire
community.”

The program’s content is a mix of video- and project-based learning on Google’s Applied Digital Skills curriculum
and partner-facilitated workshops to accommodate the wide range of the reentry population needs. Googlers have
been assigned to each nonprofit to support staff and to offer one-on-one coaching to help participants with job
interviews and resume development.

“Digital skills are essential for career success and economic mobility,” said Christopher Watler, Chief External
Affairs Officer, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO). “In a recent survey of CEO participants, 56
percent indicated a desire to learn digital skills. People leaving incarceration need immediate access to employment
to support themselves and their families. Most can’t afford to miss work to attend educational or training classes.
Grow with Google provides a flexible and free digital skills learning platform that helps CEO to meet the digital
skills learning needs of our participants.”

The program is part of Google’s racial equity commitments and builds on the company’s ongoing investments in
criminal justice reform. Since 2015, Google has given more than $40 million to nonprofits advancing criminal
justice reform, and $60 million to organizations working to expand access to hands-on computer science learning.
Any nonprofit organization offering training to the reentry population can join the Grow with Google Partner
Program and access resources, workshop materials and hands-on help, free of cost.

About Grow with Google
Grow with Google was started in 2017 to help Americans grow their skills, careers, and businesses. It provides free
training, tools, and expertise to help small business owners, veterans and military families, job seekers and students,
educators, startups, and developers. Since Grow with Google’s inception, it has helped more than six million
Americans develop new skills. Grow with Google has a network of more than 8,000 partner organizations like
libraries, schools, small business development centers, chambers of commerce, workforce development boards and
nonprofits to help people coast-to-coast.

Partner Quotes
“Due to a lack of access to the internet and computers while incarcerated, returning citizens are often at a
disadvantage in today’s digital job market,” said Sydney Heller, Chief Program Officer, The Last Mile. “Programs
like the new Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry program are monumental in leveling the playing field
and moving us towards more equitable hiring by providing opportunity for people to gain proficiency in digital
skills.”

“The ability to access and use digital tools, both personally and professionally, is not optional in today’s world,” said
Andrew Glazier, President and CEO, Defy Ventures. “We are proud to be working with Google to address a
profound digital divide that can make or break a successful reentry for formerly incarcerated people.”
“Justice involved individuals often have major deficits when it comes to digital literacy. The pandemic exposed
these shortfalls in ways that were unimaginable before COVID. The Fortune Society is honored to partner with
Google to help our participants increase their digital literacy skills and capacity to secure and maintain sustainable
employment with a livable wage,” said Ronald F. Day, Ph.D., Vice President of Programs at The Fortune
Society. “Thanks to Google, our participants will be equipped to compete in this highly competitive job market.
When provided an opportunity our clients excel. This benefits our participants, their families, and the entire
community.”

“Digital skills are the table stakes for people who are returning to the workforce, working to build careers, or starting
their own businesses. For people coming home from prison, learning those essential skills may seem daunting and
can present a real barrier to rebuilding their lives,” said Topeka K. Sam, Founder and Executive Director of The
LOHM. “By partnering with the Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry program, we’re able to offer free
training to women and girls directly affected by incarceration on digital fundamentals and essential skills for people
looking to start their own businesses, like the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and budgeting. The LOHM thanks
Google for their commitment to this work and their support of our effort to end poverty and incarceration of women
and girls.”