Wanting to help close the digital skills gap in north Baton Rouge and spotlight the small business services it offers, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library system will, on Friday, host an all-day Grow with Google workshop.
Google staff will teach a variety of hands-on workshop sessions aimed at providing local businesses and residents with tools and resources to find the jobs they want, advance their careers and grow their businesses. Participants can learn how to get their business found on Google Search and Maps and how to use G Suite tools, among other skills.
Somewhat significantly, the event will be held at the library’s Scotlandville branch. Assistant Library Director Mary Stein says the decision is partially due to logistics since the Main Library at Goodwood is booked through Christmas. More importantly, however, it’s because the library wants to help bridge the skills gap within the local workforce by bolstering its service offerings in north Baton Rouge.
“Employers say they need qualified workers, and we’ll be getting people reintroduced to digital literacy,” Stein says. “We’re not going to chastise them for not having those skills.”
The move also signifies the changing role of libraries throughout the U.S.; the library system is currently, partnering with 11 other libraries across the country to establish best practices, particularly for branches in communities with underserved populations.
Grow with Google fosters a similar mission, aiming to help participants learn “middle skills”—positions requiring some skills but not four-year degrees, most of which are computer and technical skills—that are needed for 82% of the jobs available today amid a digitally-shifting job market. Overall, middle-skill jobs average $20 per hour.
“You can’t apply for a job or benefits on paper anymore; you have to have a certain level of digital literacy,” says Andrew Tadman, the library’s reference coordinator. “A lot of people are intimidated by that or don’t know where to start, but they might want to try other classes here after this.”
Since launching in 2017, Grow with Google has gone to libraries in 37 states, says spokeswoman Katherine Williams. Over the two-year period, more than 33 million Americans have participated in the program, most of which have taken place online.
Baton Rouge is one of three Louisiana cities participating in the program, along with New Orleans and Shreveport. Williams says she expects roughly 100 people to attend throughout the day, noting each session caps at 40 people.
The workshops will take place Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Register here.
