“We’re delighted to be bringing ‘Maharat Min Google’ to the Middle East and North Africa \u2014 our contribution to the future of the workforce in MENA. This program is free of charge, available in Arabic and accessible on any platform. ‘Maharat Min Google’ draws on our 20-year history of building products, platforms, and services that connect people and businesses, helping them grow and succeed online. We know how valuable digital tools are to MENA’s future and we at Google are proud to be an engine supporting their growth,” said Matt Brittin, Google’s president of business operations across Europe, Middle East and Africa.<\/p>\n
Google also signed an agreement with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation (MiSK) which will conduct in-person trainings to more than100,000<\/strong>\u00a0students across Saudi Arabia. Both collaborations with Injaz and MISK will target\u00a050 percent<\/strong>\u00a0female participation. Google is looking for further local partnerships across the region with governments, universities, private-sector businesses and nonprofits to expand the reach of its ‘Maharat min Google’ program.<\/p>\n “At the Misk Foundation, we emphasize the importance of this initiative as it is an extension to the our commitment to develop the Saudi youth’s skills, focusing in particular on 21st century skills which will result in a ready-to-market generation as well as prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovator. And since obtaining digital skills is the cornerstone to achieve this, the Misk Foundation partnered on this initiative with Google and the other participating and sponsoring organizations,” said Deema Al Yahya, Adviser and CEO of MiSK Innovation.<\/p>\n Google also announced at the launch event that\u00a0Google.org<\/a>, Google’s philanthropic arm, is granting $1 million USD to INJAZ Al-Arab,\u00a0a regional nonprofit organization,\u00a0<\/em>which will roll out in-person trainings to\u00a0100,000<\/strong>students across 14 countries in MENA focusing on youth in underprivileged and\u00a0\u00a0rural areas.<\/p>\n Akef Aqrabawi, CEO of INJAZ Al-Arab, said: “We are very happy with Google’s support to offer digital literacy skills across the MENA region and to expand the reach of a program like ‘Maharat min Google’. We share a common vision with Google and want to support the Arab youth, especially those in rural areas and underprivileged communities, in preparing them for future job opportunities and in empowering them to become successful entrepreneurs.”<\/p>\n In a recent study by the World Economic Forum,\u00a01 in 5\u00a0<\/strong>jobs in the Arab world will require digital skills that aren’t widely available today[1]<\/sup><\/a>.\u00a051%<\/strong>\u00a0of youth consider unemployment their biggest concern and\u00a0<\/strong>only\u00a038%<\/strong>\u00a0believe their education gives them the\u00a0skills they need<\/a>\u00a0to enter the workforce[2]<\/sup><\/a>. In MENA, there are 30 million women educated, connected and of working age, which represents the largest economic opportunity in the region today.\u00a0\u00a0More than\u00a050%<\/strong>\u00a0of university graduates are females[3]<\/sup><\/a>, yet only\u00a025%<\/strong>\u00a0participate in the workforce.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/middleeastevents.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/MAHARAT-MIN-GOOGLE-YOUTH-HUB-1.jpg\")
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