Pichai announces tech job training initiative for Americans

Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that the tech giant would train 250,000 people for technology jobs as part of a White House initiative to expand training opportunities for Americans.

Pichai made the announcement during an appearance with Ivanka Trump, the daughter and senior advisor to President Donald Trump, at El Centro community college in Dallas.

The Silicon Valley-based company said it will create 250,000 training opportunities over the next five years.

Google is one of more than 350 companies to join the Pledge to America's Workers, a White House initiative that's enlisted the private sector to help close the gap between skills companies seek in employees and those that job candidates have.

The companies have committed to train more than 14 million students and workers since Trump introduced the pledge in July 2018.

Google had previously signed the pledge through its membership in the trade group the Internet Association, but Thursday's announcement further strengthens that commitment, Dallas New reported.

Google already has a national skills training programme called Grow with Google, which provides free resources to learn various online skills.

At the roundtable, Ivanka said the pledge is meant to fill job opportunities with young workers as well as help reskill workers later in their careers.

Google's pledge comes as it is facing multiple investigations into its competitive practices. Google has received a request for documents from the House Judiciary Committee and also faces a state-led probe from 50 attorneys general and reportedly from the Department of Justice.

For Google, the announcement is part of an effort to woo the public and politicians of both parties who have grown skeptical of big tech, the report said.