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Facebook Community Boost brings digital training to Greenville

Staff Report //May 29, 2018//

Facebook Community Boost brings digital training to Greenville

Staff Report //May 29, 2018//

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A Facebook study of the working population in Greenville found that 64% are interested in gaining digital skills, and that 66% have used the internet to find a job. The growing entrepreneurial and small business community in Greenville is what led Facebook to choose the city as one of its first to offer Facebook Community Boost, a program designed to help small businesses grow and provide more people the digital skills they need to compete in the new economy.

Facebook Community Boost begins May 29 and runs through June 1 at the Greenville One Center.

Facebook announced the program in November 2017 and selected Greenville as one of the first five cities to host a community boost event. By the end of this year, 30 other cities across the country will have hosted similar events, according to a news release.

Why Greenville?

“We picked the first five cities to show the diversity of the cities we plan to visit,” Aneesh Raman, a global policy team member for Facebook, told GSA Business Report in November 2017. “We value the role small businesses play. They are key to stronger communities.”

The other first cities include St. Louis, Houston, Albuquerque, N.M., and Des Moines, Iowa.

The study of the working population in Greenville, according to the news release, shows:

  • Only 16% have started their own business, but 50% say they want to at some point
  • 41% rank digital skills as “very important” when looking for a job
  • That jumps to 89% when including respondents saying it was “very” or “somewhat” important
  • While only 29% included social media in their job searching, 63% said they would be interested in attending a free digitals skills seminar or event that may be helpful in growing a small business.

 

The most popular topics that respondents wanted to learn more about included:

  • Finding and searching for information online
  • Creating and editing documents using Microsoft Office products
  • Creating a mobile friendly interface and presence for a company

 

The Facebook digital skills study also revealed how some Greenville job or skill seekers feel about their ability to employ technology at work.

  • 16% say they have “excellent” digital skills
  • 49% believe they are “excellent” or “good” with digital skills
  • 94% agree that digital skills are important when looking for a job
  • Compared to 67% saying the same about social media skills
  • And 71% saying the school attended is also an important factor
  • 74% have used the Internet to help find a job
  • While only 35% included social media when searching for a job
  • 69% say that it is difficult to find a job
  • 69% said they would be interested in attending a free digitals skills seminar or event that may be helpful in growing a small business

 

When Facebook announced the program last year, the company said it had invested more than $1 billion to support small businesses since 2011 but it “wanted to do more to support communities across America,” according to the release.

Facebook executives plan to visit 30 cities across the country in 2018 to hear stories about how the Facebook Community Boost program can assist in providing the necessary digital tools. Small businesses are encouraged to share their stories online. The program seeks to help businesses expand digitally and find new customers, as well as provide digital training for job seekers, entrepreneurs and community leaders.

In a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was proud of the 70 million small businesses that use Facebook to connect with customers.

“That's 70 million people who now have access to the same tools the big guys have,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Now we need to make it easier for people to start and build new businesses or find jobs and opportunities, and in the process, strengthen their communities.”

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