Genesis Youth Foundation, a Des Moines-based nonprofit serving refugee and immigrant families, announced Jan. 11 that it will start providing job training and technology and financial literacy programming for adults. Partnerships with Google, Principal Financial, United Way of Central Iowa and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Iowa Workforce initiatives have made the programs possible, and will also ensure they are “sustainable,” GYF Executive Director and co-founder Sam Gabriel said in a release. Genesis will use the 100 Google Career Certificate scholarships committed by Google in December to help close the digital skills gap among parents and adults in the refugee and immigrant community. Participants will receive a free six-month training in areas like IT support or data analytics and have access to a network of more than 150 employers looking to hire for entry-level roles. Other new programs Genesis will launch are financial literacy and English language learner courses.
