As co-leads of the Google Veterans Network (VetNet) Employee Resource Group, we see daily how veterans’ skills translate into high-impact workforce leadership. Through deep collaborations with global non-profits, industry partners, and our own product teams, Google is continuing to invest in career pathways and grassroots support to help veterans and military spouses successfully transition and thrive at every stage of their civilian lives.
Expanding skills and career pathways
A central part of our efforts is providing veterans with career resources and trainings in the latest tech skills. Here’s what we’re doing:
- Google Launchpad for Veterans: Now in its third year, this program helps active-duty personnel, transitioning service members, and veterans build practical cloud and generative AI skills, preparing them for credentials like the Generative AI Leader certification. Certifications — available at no cost through this program — are known to help open up career opportunities. In fact, 92% of Google Skills learners say Google Cloud credentials (certifications, skill badges) help them get in-demand jobs faster.
- Veterans Career Week: Hosted alongside Grow with Google, our flagship initiative expanded internationally this year programming across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, reaching over 6,000 participants. At our hands-on Grow with Google workshops, veterans and military families used tools like Career Dreamer, which translates their military experience into civilian resumes. They also received no-cost scholarships for digital and AI training, including the Google AI Professional Certificate. Today, one in ten Google Career Certificate graduates comes from the military community.
- National Veterans Small Business Week: Grow with Google teamed up with American Corporate Partners (ACP) and Blue Star Families to deliver hands-on AI training during our third annual National Veterans Small Business Week livestream. Attendees learned practical AI skills and gained insights from a veteran-owned small business.
- Skilled Trades Initiative: Google.org is supporting Hiring Our Heroes, Home Builders Institute, and Student Veterans of America to help 25,000 veterans and military family members build long-term careers in skilled trades. This builds upon prior funding to support student veterans nationwide with broad career readiness programming, including access to Google Career Certificates and Google AI Professional Certificate.
- Public Sector Enablement: Working alongside partners like Carahsoft, Google Cloud has trained more than 40,000 public sector personnel, including active duty service members and reservists, equipping our military with the hands-on expertise to safely architect what’s next.
Investing in community organizations
This year’s Google Veteran Impact Awards delivered $500,000 in new funding across four high-impact organizations. Nominated by VetNet Googlers with deep personal ties to their work, these nonprofits represent the groups our veteran community trusts, champions, and volunteers for:
