$300M Pledged By Google To Improve Education, Workforce Development Across Virginia

RESTON, VA — Google will be investing more than $300 million in Virginia this year, as well as providing a $250,000 grant to promote computer science education and workforce development across the state. That tech giant made the announcement Tuesday morning during a ceremony its Reston Station headquarters.

Just last week, Google released its 2021 Economic Impact Report that showed the company had provided more than $8.4 billion in economic activity for tens of thousands of Virginia business, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers, according to Vint Cerf, chief internet evangelist and a vice president at Google.

"More than 475,000 Virginia businesses received requests for directions, phone calls, bookings, reviews and other direct connections to their customers from Google in 2021," he said. "But as we think about our investments here in Virginia, an important metric is ensuring that Google is doing right by the communities that we call home."

As such, Google plans to make investments in workforce development and education in Virginia, including awarding a $250,000 grant to CodeVA. The Richmond-based nonprofit trains educators so that they can teach computer science in their classrooms throughout the state. The effort supports Virginia’s 2016 mandate that all children be taught computer science in school.

The investment in education would also help to replicate the success of CodeRVA, a regional magnet school for computer science education that serves 15 different school systems in central Virginia.

"They're creating new ways to teach computer science," CodeVA Executive Director Chris Dovy said about CodeRVA. "We are training our teachers how to do that. We also create new ways to teach computer science. We could be combining some of those resources and doing more and better and creating best practices statewide."

Google's grant will help CodeVA to expand its network of seven regional computer science hubs to provide professional development classes and school programs for educators, students and families, with the aim or cultivating the next generation of tech talent.

"We know that working with higher education, community colleges, industry and the community will provide our kids with the best foundation for the jobs of tomorrow," Cerf said.

Google will also be partnering with the Virginia Community College System in the Department of Education to make Google Professional Certificates available at all of the state's 23 community colleges and five education centers.

"These certificates provide another pathway for learners and job seekers seeking careers in high-growth fields, such as data analytics, IT support, and will help prepare Virginians for in demand well paying roles that local employers are hiring," Cerf said.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin was on hand Tuesday to thank Google for choosing Virginia to make its investment, which he said would create more jobs for future generations in the state.

"A $300 million investment from Google this year, underpins and translates into $9 billion of near economic contribution to the Commonwealth for Google," he said. "It's these kinds of investments that we see impact Virginians all over the Commonwealth."

Google currently has more than 480 employees in Virginia, overseeing critical functions like Google Cloud, and maintaining the infrastructure that supports the company's online services, such as Search.

Charles Kapur, president and CEO of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, said his group welcomed Tuesday's announcement from Google.

"Google’s investment in the Commonwealth demonstrates the strength of their commitment to education and talent development of both our existing, and rising, workforce," he said. "Creating opportunities for individuals to align their skills with the most in-demand jobs strengthens our community, bolsters our regional economy, and allows Virginia to be the best state to do business."

Before the ceremony, Youngkin had the opportunity to tour Google's Reston Station offices and talk to the company's employees about their work.

Once the ceremony was over, Youngkin stopped to shoot some hoops with Liz Schwab, Google's head of external affairs, at a basketball game in the company's 16th floor lobby. Schwab is the former director of women's basketball at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Youngkin attended Rice University in Texas on a basketball scholarship.