Tennessee workers displaced by the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 can enroll in free online classes to advance their skill set. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has partnered with Coursera, an online learning platform, to help Tennesseans skill up and get back to work.
 
The success and impact of the TDLWD-Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative program last year helped thousands of Tennesseans learn critical, job-relevant skills," officials said. "Through the Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative, unemployed Tennesseans have free access to 4,000 courses that will help them develop the knowledge and skills needed to find meaningful employment.
 
"Coursera partners with 200 of the world’s leading university and industry educators to offer courses teaching job-relevant skills across business, technology and data science."
 
“This type of training and education helps develop a stronger workforce development pipeline across the state,” said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord. “Coursera provides courses for Tennesseans to learn new, marketable skills so they can advance their careers or start down the path to a new career.”

Through this partnership, Tennesseans can earn professional certificates from leading companies like Google. These courses are designed to prepare people with no degree or technology background for entry-level careers in high-growth fields such as IT Support, Project Management, UX Design, and Data Analytics.  
 
“Google wants to ensure all Tennesseans have access to the job training needed to unlock their full economic potential,” said Lisa Gevelber, vice president, Grow with Google. “Through our partnership with Coursera and the state of Tennessee, we’re thrilled the local workforce can access the Google Career Certificates to help make them job-ready for high-paying, high-growth jobs.”
 
With 4,000 courses available, Tennesseans can acquire a wide range of skills through Coursera. Students can earn certificates in everything from social media marketing to Excel skills, web development, the business of health care specialization, and IT security.
 
“Our work with the state of Tennessee has already helped thousands of hard-working citizens prepare for high-demand local jobs, including roles in IT support and contact tracing,” said Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO. “As the state prepares for the post-COVID economy, we’re excited to expand our partnership and provide Tennesseans with a wider selection of skills-based learning and job-relevant credentials to rebuild a thriving workforce.”
 
Coursera allows students to start most classes at their convenience and set work deadlines that accommodate their other time commitments. 
 
To register, Tennesseans need to create an account with Jobs4TN.gov. Once they have an account, they can send an email with their name and phone number to coursera@jobs4tn.zendesk.com to start the enrollment process.
 
Tennessee will offer free access to learning on Coursera Classes through Dec. 31. You can learn more about the courses offered and how to enroll by following this link: https://www.tn.gov/workforce/coursera.html.