A partnership between the Bermuda College and Google is offering residents a chance to thrive in a changing global economy.

Five hundred scholarships are being offered to people who want to learn new skills, reskill, upskill or retrain through flexible online courses.

The programme will include access to foundational Grow with Google Career Certificates in areas such as cybersecurity, data analytics, IT support, digital marketing and e-commerce, project management and user experience design.

Ali Arouzi, vice-president of academic affairs at the college, said: “Right now about 65 scholarships have already been used. Currently we have 435 out of 500 left.

“This is something totally brand new. When we started this conversation last year, Google mentioned that Bermuda College was the first outside of North America that they were partnering with. I thought that was a very big deal.”

Advanced certificates include advanced data analytics, business intelligence and IT automation with Python, while shorter courses include AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials and Agile Essentials.

Courses are online and self-paced. Foundational certificates are designed for those with no previous experience and can be completed in three to six months of part-time study. Shorter Google courses can be completed in approximately five to seven hours.

Dr Arouzi mentioned that he had completed one of the courses himself and had come away impressed.

He added: “They’re all really around AI, AI fundamentals and prompting. There are some others: e-commerce, project management and cybersecurity. It’s a whole list of courses.

“It’s really good for people who are not sure about the career that they want. You just start with an introductory course and see if it sparks an interest.”

Dr Arouzi hoped the partnership could continue beyond the end of 2027. As it stands, there are no further plans to extend the time frame or the number of scholarships.

He added: “It’s a great initiative and I don’t want it to be a one-time event.

“Since opening the initiative to the campus, we have seen strong engagement and early success, with participants completing multiple courses in a short period, demonstrating both the platform’s accessibility and its clear impact in driving continuous professional growth.”

David Sam, the president of the Bermuda College, hailed the project as an “exceptional opportunity”.

He said: “Through this partnership with Google, residents will be able to access world-class training at no cost, in areas that are increasingly important to employers and to the future of work.

A Google spokesman added: “Bermuda is an important place for Google, and as we invest in the island’s digital infrastructure, we also want to invest in its people and their opportunities.

“This first-of-its-kind partnership for Bermuda is about helping residents build practical, job-ready skills that can support career growth, open new pathways and make the opportunities created by technology more accessible to everyone.”

The programme began as a soft-launch pilot for Bermuda College faculty and staff before being introduced to the St David’s Primary School community, where Google shared the opportunity with parents as part of its engagement connected to the Nuvem and Sol transatlantic cable projects and planned cable landing station in St David’s.

After completing a course, participants will receive an official Google certificate of completion that can be added as a badge to professional profiles on LinkedIn.

• To learn more about the initiative or to sign up, go to theGoogle Request Formor e-mail apace@college.bm