Junta and Google join forces to provide training for individuals, schools, businesses and the public sector in Andalucía

This Thursday, the regional government of Andalucía and Google formalised an alliance at the tech giant's centre of excellence in Malaga to "contribute to accelerating the region's digital transformation, making it accessible to everyone". This is how the regional industry and energy minister, Jorge Paradela, summarised the objective of the collaborative agreement signed between the multinational and the Junta. The agreement will materialise in the coming months through concrete actions in three key areas: "training individuals and professionals in digital skills, training teachers, researchers and higher education students in advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools and supporting companies in their transformation to the digital ecosystem through cloud technologies", as explained by Google's director of institutional relations, Miguel Escassi.

"First, we will make available to all the people of Andalucía a comprehensive training programme focused on acquiring and expanding AI knowledge to help improve employability by reducing the digital divide and the digital skills gap," said Escassi. Second, there are programmes for the education sector: for one, a comprehensive programme to train teachers and research staff in Google AI tools such as Gemini and Notebook LM, in order to modernise teaching and research, then another, programmes and certifications for higher education students that "will equip them with the fundamental skills for the responsible use of AI, thus improving their future employability and strengthening Andalusian talent", said Google's spokesperson. The third element consists of collaboration with the public and business sectors. "We will collaborate to train Andalucía's public sector in cloud technologies, cooperate to promote initiatives that help in the field of cybersecurity and help combat cyber threats and we will continue to support the digital agency of Andalucía (ADA) in the creation of a digital ecosystem of resilient companies," concluded Escassi.

This alliance establishes four major areas of collaboration: AI and cloud computing, digital training and talent acquisition and development, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship and, lastly, R&D. "We are committed to a more efficient and transparent administration, a better-prepared population with the help of digital training, a more cybersecure society and an entrepreneurial ecosystem where our startups and SMEs can grow and compete globally," stressed the regional minister.

Following the official signing of the agreement, Paradela championed public-private partnerships as the way forward to nurture inclusive digitalisation, citing the achievements in Malaga, a city that "is becoming the cybersecurity capital of southern Europe", thanks to the coordinated efforts of companies and institutions. "Today we are visiting GSEC Malaga, a centre with similar counterparts only in Dublin and Munich. From here, with the talent available in Andalucía, Google's cybersecurity is being projected for Europe and the world. And, in this same area, in Malaga's port, we have the Andalusian Cybersecurity Centre, which will soon become the Andalusian Cybersecurity Agency," he announced.