Design Method
Improve Your Skills at Google Digital Garage
At the current pace of digital innovation, it seems impossible to keep up with the skills needed to succeed. It wasn’t that long ago that people could learn a skillset and rely on it for the rest of their careers. Some people might invest a little time each year for continuing education to keep their skills sharp and learn about any new developments. But now, with the speed at which technology advances and the marketplace changes, we need to be continually improving our skills, learning new things and implementing new ideas. However, it is also a challenge to find time and money for additional education and training. Fortunately, there are free and flexible options like Google Digital Garage. Whether you just want to brush up your skills for your current job, or are looking to start a new career, Digital Garage is worth a look.
What is Google Digital Garage?
The Digital Garage is a free online learning platform designed to help people learn about all things digital. This includes websites, digital marketing, building an online business, social media, customer behavior, content marketing, and others. In addition to the option to take individual courses, students can also enroll in programs to receive certifications in several areas, including digital marketing, Adwords, search engine optimization, cybersecurity, fundamentals of cloud computing, and more.
What is the Cost?
The majority of the courses and certifications at the Google Digital Garage are absolutely free. However, Google has partnered with some vendors to provide additional certification programs that do charge a fee. Fortunately, the platform makes it simple to filter the courses to see which ones are free and which ones involve a fee. The majority of paid courses are offered through a partnership with Coursera, a platform that partners with top universities and organizations to offer courses online. While there is a charge for certifications, many of the courses allow students to audit for free, gaining access to the materials but without the certification.
How Do I Get Started?
Even before you visit Google Digital Garage, consider the areas you need to develop. Perhaps you feel your marketing skills have not kept pace with the changes in the digital revolution. Consider the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing certification course. This is an excellent opportunity to learn and sharpen skills, as well as to get a feel for Google’s online learning platform. You can either take the entire course with 26 modules over 40 hours or simply pick and choose parts of the course that fit your needs. If you do decide to complete the entire course, you will receive a certification certificate showing that the course is accredited by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University.
Designed to Be Practical – Not Academic
The courses in the Digital Garage are all designed to help you improve, build, and expand real-world skills that will help grow your business, launch a new career, or move up in your organization. They are all built around real-world examples and practical exercises so you can apply your new knowledge right away. Even better, these courses allow you to learn at your own pace. So, even if you are already working full-time, you can study whenever you are free and complete the course on your own timeline.