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MENA Job Seekers Can Obtain Career Certificates & Scholarships From Google
For job seekers who only speak Arabic, Google has added 5 additional digital skills courses to help them acquire even more digital skills.
The tech industry has an insatiable appetite for skilled employees, and universities don’t produce nearly enough graduates to meet it. The result is a global talent shortage, which has recently reached a 15-year high, with 69% of employers globally struggling to find employees with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths.
Now, Google is offering to sponsor over 7,000 scholarships for its Career Certificates program in the Middle East and North Africa as part of the Grow Stronger with Google initiative.
The certificates included in the program are aimed at job seekers with no prior IT experience, and their goal is to help them cultivate the skills they need to find employment in the following four major fields: IT support, project management, UX design, and data analytics.
To reach a wide range of participants, several local organizations are helping to distribute the scholarships, including:
- Amideast in Lebanon
- Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and the Higher College of Technology in the UAE
- Egyptian Banking Institution (EBI) and the University Center for Career Development (UCCD)
- Gaza Sky Geeks in Palestine
- General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) and the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) in Saudi Arabia
- The Agency for Digital Development (ADD) in Morocco
Google’s certificates can be obtained even without a scholarship through self-paced programs on Coursera.org. It’s then up to individual employers to recognize them.
Also Read: Mastercard Plans To Say Goodbye To Magnetic Stripes In 2024
For job seekers who only speak Arabic, Google has added five additional digital skills courses to Maharat min Google, helping them acquire even more digital skills needed to thrive in today’s digital world.
Google’s initiative is part of the global education trend of placing greater emphasis on practical skills and using modern digital tools to obtain them. This trend reflects the fact that traditional universities have limited capacity and have trouble keeping with the rapidly evolving needs of the tech industry.
News
Samsung Smart Glasses Teased For January, Software Reveal Imminent
According to Korean sources, the new wearable will launch alongside the Galaxy S25, with the accompanying software platform unveiled this December.
Samsung appears poised to introduce its highly anticipated smart glasses in January 2025, alongside the launch of the Galaxy S25. According to sources in Korea, the company will first reveal the accompanying software platform later this month.
As per a report from Yonhap News, Samsung’s unveiling strategy for the smart glasses echoes its approach with the Galaxy Ring earlier this year. The January showcase won’t constitute a full product launch but will likely feature teaser visuals at the Galaxy S25 event. A more detailed rollout could follow in subsequent months.
Just in: Samsung is set to unveil a prototype of its augmented reality (AR) glasses, currently in development, during the Galaxy S25 Unpacked event early next year, likely in the form of videos or images.
Additionally, prior to revealing the prototype, Samsung plans to introduce…
— Jukanlosreve (@Jukanlosreve) December 3, 2024
The Galaxy Ring, for example, debuted in January via a short presentation during Samsung’s Unpacked event. The full product unveiling came later at MWC in February, and the final release followed in July. Samsung seems to be adopting a similar phased approach with its smart glasses, which are expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2025.
A Collaborative Software Effort
Samsung’s partnership with Google has played a key role in developing the smart glasses’ software. This collaboration was first announced in February 2023, with the device set to run on an Android-based platform. In July, the companies reiterated their plans to deliver an extended reality (XR) platform by the end of the year. The software specifics for the XR device are expected to be unveiled before the end of December.
Reports suggest that the smart glasses will resemble Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in functionality. They won’t include a display but will weigh approximately 50 grams, emphasizing a lightweight, user-friendly design.
Feature Set And Compatibility
The glasses are rumored to integrate Google’s Gemini technology, alongside features like gesture recognition and potential payment capabilities. Samsung aims to create a seamless user experience by integrating the glasses with its broader Galaxy ecosystem, starting with the Galaxy S25, slated for release on January 22.