August 6, 2021

Goodwill Omaha Seeks Candidates for Facebook Social Media Certification Scholarships

Goodwill Omaha Seeks Candidates for Facebook Social Media Certification Scholarships

A new grant is helping people of color enter careers in digital marketing and social media

Goodwill Industries, Inc., Serving Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa (Goodwill Omaha), has been selected to participate in a grant-funded accelerated training program through Goodwill Industries International, Facebook Elevate and Coursera that is intended to amplify diversity in the rapidly growing field of digital and social media marketing.

The grant and certification program come at a time when organizations of all sizes and types are struggling to find talent. U.S. education systems, parents, teachers and administrators worked hard to enrich learning virtually during pandemic shutdowns.

Despite their efforts, the widening achievement gaps between students’ economic levels and ethnic backgrounds cannot be ignored. Furthermore, these discrepancies among peers could lead to higher dropout rates among high school students, according to early research by McKinsey & Company on the effects of pandemic shutdowns on students’ learning.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought unforeseen challenges and changes to the workforce over the last year,” said Linda Kizzier, director of mission programs at Goodwill Omaha. The pandemic accelerated the need for jobs requiring digital skills and put them in the spotlight. “It brings a new and unique opportunity for our YouthBuild and Employment Solutions mission programs,” Kizzier said.

Through the grant, Goodwill Omaha is seeking candidates for 10 scholarships covering the full cost of the Social Media Professional Certificate Program offered by Facebook Elevate and Coursera before the end of 2021 in this exciting partnership.

“The really great thing about this program is that our participants have the opportunity to earn a well-respected certificate and have the chance to start a career in social media,” Kizzier said. “It’s a marketing-adjacent career path that often requires a college degree. But Facebook’s certificate means something to employers, so, if participants are willing to put in the work, they could feasibly start applying for social media management jobs once they earn it. To us, this training perfectly aligns with our organization’s mission.”

The program is designed for people with no previous experience in marketing or social media. Goodwill Omaha will award the scholarships to qualifying participants from the Black and Latinx communities through the organization’s innovative training services, and will offer scholarship recipients Goodwill’s innovative employment services, including career change planning, résumé support and career advice.

Members of the Omaha area’s Black, Latinx and Hispanic communities who would like to apply for one of Goodwill Omaha’s Social Media Professional Certificate Program scholarships should contact Sarah Alba, Employment Solutions program manager at Goodwill Omaha, at 402-341-4609 or salba@goodwillomaha.org.

About Facebook Elevate

Facebook Elevate is a community and learning platform created to accelerate the growth of entities of color and to celebrate creators who break barriers and turn dreams into realities. Created in 2018 to accelerate the economic success and impact of entities of color, Elevate serves Black, Latinx and Hispanic small businesses, creators, nonprofits, students and job seekers to provide them with education, community, mentorship and empowerment. For more information about the Facebook Elevate program, please visit Facebook.com/fbelevate.

About Coursera

Coursera was launched in 2012 by two Stanford Computer Science professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, with a mission to provide universal access to world-class learning. Today, Coursera is one of the world’s leading online learning platforms with more than 77 million registered learners.

Coursera partners with more than 200 leading university and industry partners to offer a broad catalog of content and credentials, including guided projects, courses, specializations, certificates, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees. More than 6,000 institutions have used Coursera to transform, upskill and reskill their employees, citizens, and students, including in high-demand fields such as data science, technology and business. Learn more at Coursera.org.