The Octavia Fellin Public Library hosted the third New Mexico session of the Grow with Google tour March 22, an initiative that helps people grow their skills, careers, and businesses by offering free tools, training, and events.
Grow with Google draws on Google’s 20-year history of building projects, platforms, and services to help people and businesses grow, according to information given out at the library. The aim is to help people across America access the best of Google’s training and tools.
Highlights of the initiative include faster job searches on Google, online curriculums to teach digital tools, such as spreadsheets and email, developer training scholarships, and professional certificate opportunities in numerous information technology categories.
People such as job seekers, teachers, developers, veterans, as well as small businesses and startups, can sign up for either information workshops or one-on-one tutoring in various Google technologies during the Grow with Google tour.
Peter Schottenfels, communications manager with Google, said that there has been a great turnout at each New Mexico event.
“People are excited [to learn] about tools and resources to get their business going,” he said.
Schottenfels said that the curriculums being taught on the tour are mostly aimed at Google technologies, but the knowledge that users acquire can be transferred to other programs such as word processors and online maps.
The workshops at Octavia Fellin taught participants how to get their businesses found on Google Search and Maps, as well as how to best use Gmail, Sheets, and Slides.
The one-on-one coaching sessions were aimed at business owners, teaching them to utilize Google Ads, Analytics, My Business, and G Suite.
According to Google, their search and advertising tools helped generate about $283 billion of economic activity in 2017 for more than 1.5 million businesses, website publishers, and nonprofits across the United States.
If locals were unable to attend the workshops and coaching sessions, they will still be able to learn about various Google technologies at the library.
“The library can continue to teach what we have,” Schottenfels said. “We had special training for the library staff that they can provide at later dates.”
Schottenfels concluded his comments by saying the City of Gallup was a wonderful partner in setting up the tour stop.
For more information on Grow with Google, visit: https://grow.google/
By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent
