Northeastern Illinois University is once again partnering with Google as it joins the in the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program. Northeastern is the only four-year institution in the state of Illinois to partner with Google on this initiative, which will help Latino students at 35 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) prepare for the workforce through digital skills training and career workshops. Through a $2 million investment in the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the program will train 200,000 Latino students by 2025. 

In partnership with HACU, the Grow with Google HSI Career Readiness Program launched in January 2022 and provides HSI career centers with funding and a semester-long in-person and online digital skills program. HACU has a track record of increasing access to education in the Latino community, and two-thirds of Latino college students in the U.S. attend one of its member institutions. The initiative combines career workshops, career counseling, and programming on design thinking, project management, and professional brand building. The participating schools will also create additional material tailored to student needs.

Google’s latest commitments build on more than $35 million provided to date to expand economic opportunity in the Latino community. Northeastern and Google began a partnership in 2019 to introduce computer science to graduating high school seniors and transfer undergraduate students with a passion for technology—especially students from historically underrepresented groups in the field—through the Computer Science Summer Institute Extension Program.