Google Career Launchpad Program
Want to give your students the cutting-edge AI skills they need to succeed? The Google Career Launchpad program provides no-cost training, focused on generative AI, for today’s in-demand roles. These courses are developed by experts from across Google, including Google DeepMind’s AI Research Foundations and Google Cloud Certificates and Generative AI for Leaders. Students can also prepare for an AI-driven world by building skills in data analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud engineering.
Available at no cost for higher education institutions, plus government and nonprofit workforce development organizations, Career Launchpad puts generative AI skills front and center in your students’ learning journey.
Help your students:
- Gain in-demand AI skills
- Practice with hands-on labs
- Earn Google credentials and Cloud Certificates
- Prepare for an AI-first workplace
Give Your Students a Competitive Edge with Career Launchpad
With Google DeepMind curriculum and Cloud Certificates and credentials, faculty facilitators can help students gain the hands-on skills and credentials needed to excel in today's AI-driven market.
Empower future talent
New Google DeepMind AI Research curriculum and Google Cloud Certificates help prepare your students for in-demand jobs in generative AI, cybersecurity, and data analytics.
Impact student success
Support your students' learning with access to Educator Guides and Google Skills credits to incorporate additional hands-on labs in your coursework.
Developed by Google DeepMind, this curriculum is designed for technical learners ready to dive into the core technologies driving modern AI. These courses were designed to deepen a learner's understanding of the AI technologies behind language models like Gemini, and teach them how to build and fine-tune their own small language models from the ground up. Learners will hone their AI research skills through coding exercises and practical lab activities, and will learn from responsible innovation and research techniques woven throughout each course. While the curriculum was shaped by educators and learners in Africa and is therefore localized to African contexts, it is useful for all learners globally. Learners should have a familiarity with Python coding. Learners will gain the practical skills needed to develop and adapt small language models (SLMs). Knowledge gained will help prepare learners for a future in postgraduate study, research roles, and specialized jobs in the AI industry. Duration: ~18 hours for courses 1-4. Courses 5-7 coming soon!
This certificate program prepares learners for
entry-level roles in cloud cybersecurity. While
there are no required prerequisites, it’s helpful
for learners to be familiar with foundational
cybersecurity concepts, skills, and tools.
Supplemental content on these concepts is included
within the certificate for learners who do not have
this prior knowledge. There are five on-demand courses in which learners
will complete hands-on labs that allow them to
practice key skills and produce work examples to
show potential employers. The first four courses
progressively build learners’ working knowledge of
networks, security models, and tools used to assess
and address threats, risks, and vulnerabilities. The
final course includes a capstone project that
focuses on applying the knowledge and skills gained
and prepares learners to establish a career in the
cloud security field. Duration: ~90 hours
This certificate program prepares aspiring cloud
data analysts for entry-level roles in the field.
While there are no required prerequisites, it’s
helpful for learners to be familiar with
foundational data analytics concepts, skills, and
tools. Supplemental content on these concepts is
included within the certificate for learners who do
not have this prior knowledge. There are five on-demand courses in which learners
will complete hands-on labs that allow them to
practice key skills and produce work examples to
show potential employers. The first four courses
progressively build learners’ working knowledge of
how to structure, store, access, and visualize data
using various cloud tools and integrations. The
final course includes a capstone project that
focuses on applying the knowledge and skills gained
to complete a full cloud data life cycle project and
prepares learners to establish a career in the cloud
data analytics field. This program is designed to help prepare students for the
Associate Data Practitioner certification. Learners who complete
the entire learning program and the Introduction to Data Engineering
on Google Cloud (first course in the Associate Data Practitioner
Learning Path) are eligible for a 50% discount on the certification
exam (administered by a third party).
Duration: ~90 hours
This certificate program provides individuals with
little to no background or experience in cloud
computing a detailed overview of concepts covering
cloud basics, big data, machine learning, and where
and how Google Cloud fits in. The course starts with
an overview of cloud computing and dives deeper into
two areas—cloud computing infrastructure, and big
data and machine learning. It enables learners to
develop technical proficiency in cloud computing and
launch or pivot to careers in a cloud-first
world. While there are no required prerequisites, it’s
helpful for learners to have basic IT knowledge and
be interested in learning more about cloud and
machine learning. This includes a basic
understanding of shell scripting and SQL. Duration: ~40 hours Note: This certificate program includes access to
full curriculum resources to enable in-classroom
instruction. Resources include slides and teaching
notes, educator guide and lesson plans, and
multiple-choice knowledge assessments.
This certificate program helps learners build
expertise in cloud infrastructure and prepare for
roles such as cloud engineer, solution architect,
and DevOps engineer. This certificate is exclusively
available through the Career Launchpad program.
Learners should be familiar with foundational cloud
infrastructure concepts, skills, and tools,
including a basic understanding of operating and
file systems, the IP networking stack, how web
browsers and servers communicate, databases,
programming, and Linux (no degree required). This program is designed to help prepare students
for the
Associate Cloud Engineer certification.
Learners who complete the entire
learning program are eligible for a 50% discount on
the certification exam (administered by a third
party). Duration: ~80 hours
This course pathway utilizes engaging videos and interactive components
to teach learners about the capabilities of generative AI and how they
benefit organizations. Through a series of on-demand courses, learners
will gain a broad overview of Gen AI and learn how to leverage Gen AI
and Google Cloud to transform organizations. Learners will also gain
practical experience by completing hands-on exercises using tools like
Gemini Advanced, Notebook LM, and Google AI Studio. This program is designed to help prepare students
for the
Generative AI Leader certification.
Learners who complete the entire
learning program are eligible for a 50% discount on
the certification exam (administered by a third
party). Duration: ~ 8 hours To further support your learning journey, you will also gain access
to our Beginner: Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path. We suggest
that you start with this introductory course before beginning the
Generative AI Leader Learning Path. It will provide you with a
foundational understanding of key concepts, including the basics
of large language models and responsible AI principles. Duration: ~ 8 hours
This course pathway helps learners build cloud
literacy and learn to distinguish and evaluate the
capabilities of Google Cloud and how it can be used
to achieve business goals. This knowledge can be applied to any role where
understanding the purpose and application of Google
Cloud is needed. This program is designed to help prepare students
for the
Cloud Digital Leader certification.
Learners who complete the entire
learning program are eligible for a 50% discount on
the certification exam (administered by a third
party). Duration: ~9 hours
Frequently asked questions
Review the frequently asked questions and answers about
the Google Career Launchpad Program in our
help center.
1 Google Cloud Certificates offer a recommendation from ACE® of up to 10 college credits.
AI-powered tools to fuel your students’ learning and career journey
Give your students AI-powered tools to assist in their learning and career journey with Google Skills Arcade, Career Dreamer (US only) and Interview Warmup
Level up your skills while having fun
Invite your students to have fun while learning. Google Skills Arcade is an always-on, no-cost gamified experience where students can gain skills and earn credentials through hands-on challenges and games. Students can earn Arcade points and claim them for rewards.
Explore your career possibilities
Career paths aren’t always straightforward, but your unique life experiences are a superpower. They’re full of valuable skills that employers need. Career Dreamer helps you uncover those skills and explore new career possibilities in a simple, playful way.
Before you interview, get warmed up
If interviewing makes you nervous, you’re not alone. Like any skill, it requires practice. Interview Warmup helps you become familiar with key questions, refine your answers, and get more comfortable with the interview process.