Massive open online course platform Udacity is providing Nanodegree program scholarships to workers who have been laid off as a result of the massive layoffs caused by the global coronavirus outbreak, according to a March 26 press release.
These scholarships will provide individuals who have been laid off with technical training and access to Udacity’s 40 Nanodegree programs on topics such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital marketing, product management, data analysis, cloud computing, autonomous vehicles and programming.
By 2025, Udacity will grant these scholarships to 100,000 American workers as part of the White House’s Pledge to America’s Workers program.
“America is facing a massive shortage of workers with the right technical skills, and as employers, retraining your existing workforce to address that shortage is the most efficient, cost-effective way to fill those gaps in your organization,” Udacity CEO Gabe Dalporto said in the press release.
For the general public, Udacity is also offering one free month’s access to one of its 40 nanodegree programs, according to a March 25 press release. Users who take advantage of this latest offering can work at their own pace through a selected nanodegree program but will have to work more than the average weekly commitment.
“With the nature of work around the world shifting to address the risks associated with COVID-19, much of the workforce finds itself at home due to remote work policies or unavoidable layoffs,” Dalporto said in the March 25 press release. “At the moment, what’s coming next in their professional lives remains unclear for far too many.”
Dalporto, who grew up in West Virginia, said in the release that he’s seen first-hand how the changing nature of work can negatively impact a community if they don’t invest the time to upskill themselves. “With the threat of COVID-19, we’re now experiencing that impact on an unprecedented scale,” he said.
Udacity, which has 11.5 million users globally, introduced the nanodegree and launched its first nanodegree program in June 2014, in partnership with AT&T. The standard monthly price for the program is $399.
