Google Portugal and Government sign cooperation program for economic recovery

30.09.2020

Google Portugal and the Portuguese government signed today a memorandum of understanding aimed at economic recovery and accelerating the digital transition, in which digital skills and employability are the main areas foreseen in the document.

The programme "Grow Portugal with Google" is aligned with the priorities defined by the Government in digital skills, employability, startups and artificial intelligence.

The memorandum of understanding, signed by the Minister of State for the Economy and the Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira and the Country Manager of Google Portugal, Bernardo Correia, establishes six programmes to develop a rapid acceleration of technological adoption, currently underway:

  • Google Search Jobs (as of today): in partnership with the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), when people search for jobs on Google they will have an experience that will allow them to explore jobs on the internet and refine searches to meet their needs. This experience has already linked 10 million people to jobs around the world.
  • Digital Atelier (from 6 October): since 2016, more than 83,000 people from Portugal have been trained in digital skills through Digital Atelier - online and face-to-face courses in collaboration with the Coordinating Council of the Portuguese Politechnic Institutes. Now, the face-to-face version of the Digital Atelier has been converted to online, a webinar with a total of 10 sessions with 10 different polytechnics. This year, Google's goal is to train 32,000 Portuguese in digital skills.
  • Android Training Program (from 14 October): In 2019, Google, in partnership with educational institutions, launched the program to train the Portuguese people in programming. So far, 14 events have been held with a total of over 3,000 trained programmers. Now, the Android Training Program is extended to include cloud and machine learning training and new partnerships with Universities for online events have emerged with the aim of training more than 3,000 programmers over 12 events.
  • AI for Business (coming soon): The launch of this tool in Portugal will provide companies with personalised recommendations on how to implement Artificial Intelligence in their business.
  • Google has also joined Indico Capital Partners to launch the Indico Accelerator Program powered by Google for Startups. The program is currently running with the support of StartUp Portugal and will be completed in June 2021. The programme includes mentoring, training, masterclasses, support in obtaining funding, recruitment and product and consumer segmentation from Google and Indico.
  • In parallel, Google has launched three free webinars with AICEP focusing on international expansion to show how digital can help companies, and in particular retail companies, from choosing the right market to preparing to be a global company.

In July, Google made a new commitment to help 10 million people and businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to find jobs, go digital and grow.

Source: Portal do Governo