GCP – Introducing skill badges, certification preparation learning paths, and online proctored certification testing

Finding the right cloud talent and expertise is important for virtually all businesses today. Almost 70 percent of IT leaders report that hiring was somewhat or extremely difficult in 2019 and that finding qualified cloud computing talent was a top challenge. Our Google Cloud training allows you to build cloud skills while our certifications help organizations grow the expert cloud talent they need to effectively transform their business and help individuals elevate their IT careers with validated cloud skills. 

As thousands of technical professionals are looking for ways to stay productive and keep their skills current, we have seen a spike in demand for Google Cloud learning resources. In the month of April, enrollments in Google Cloud training on Coursera increased by more than 500% year-over-year. Google Cloud training completions more than doubled year-over-year across all platforms and partners.

We’re committed to developing cloud professionals across all stages of their career as well as enabling enterprises who need cloud expertise to respond, adapt, and transform to dynamic market pressures. To help, we continue to grow our training and certification programs to empower both learners and employers.

Today, we’re excited to announce three new initiatives. Firstly, we are introducing Google Cloud skill badges which will recognize and help employers identify those of you with demonstrated Google Cloud technology skills. For experienced professionals, we’ve created new six-week learning paths to guide you through the certification preparation journey. Lastly, in response to overwhelming market demand, we’ve made remote certification exams available, so you can take your exam from home. 

Show your growing cloud skillset with skill badges 

Demonstrate your growing Google Cloud-recognized skillset to employers and share your progress with your network through exclusive digital Google Cloud skill badges. The digital badges are earned through completing labs and a rigorous hands-on skill test on Qwiklabs. We’ve made Qwiklabs available at no cost for 30 days through the end of 2020, making hands-on practice and skill building accessible to anyone interested in starting a career in cloud. We have several skill badges available now for beginners, such as deploying and managing cloud environments and performing foundational data, machine learning and AI tasks. Get started with free access to Qwiklabs and skill badges here.

Start your certification preparation journey 

These six-week learning paths will outline recommended Google Cloud training to help experienced cloud professionals prepare for either the Associate Cloud Engineer, Professional Data Engineer, or the Professional Cloud Architect certifications. Through our training partner, Pluralsight, the first month of training will be available at no cost as well as 30 days of unlimited Qwiklabs access at no cost. To start, choose either the Associate Cloud Engineer, Professional Data Engineer, or Professional Cloud Architect certification, and we’ll send you a dedicated learning path with relevant training offers. If you’d like to prepare for certifications not covered by the learning paths, you can check out our latest offers for training courses here. 

If you’re interested in mastering the ability to deploy applications, monitor operations, and manage enterprise solutions, the Associate Cloud Engineer learning path is for you. We recommend at least six months of hands on experience with Google Cloud before attempting the Associate Cloud Engineer exam. 

To earn the Professional Data Engineer certification, you have to prove your expertise in designing, building, operationalizing, securing, and monitoring data processing systems. We recommend you have three or more years of cloud industry experience and at least one year of experience designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud prior to preparing for this certification. 

The Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect certification, which was ranked the highest-paying IT certification for the second year in a row in the US, is recommended for individuals with three or more years cloud industry experience, including at least one year of Google Cloud experience. The learning path for this certification will guide you through how to securely design, develop, and manage robust, scalable, highly available, and dynamic solutions to drive business objectives. 

Take your certification exam  

We know many of you have already prepared and are ready to take your certification exams but are unable to do so because exam centers around the world are closed in response to COVID-19. To help, we’re making online proctored testing available for three of our exams; Associate Cloud Engineer, Professional Data Engineer, and Professional Cloud Architect. You can learn more about online proctored testing here and register for exams here.

You can start earning your Google Cloud skill badges here. Already have some cloud experience and ready to begin your certification preparation journey? Sign up here to get started with your six-week learning plan.