Meet the Learners of the Google IT Support Professional Certificate

Starting in 2018, JFF supported the scaling of the Google IT Support Professional Certificate initiative, a training program in which participants earn a new credential designed by Google to prepare people with no previous IT training or work experience for high-demand roles in IT support in less than six months. JFF helped more than 100 colleges and 25 nonprofits implement the certificate program. In addition, JFF provided technical assistance and conducted an evaluation to understand the impact of this initiative and to identify effective practices of both college and nonprofit providers.

While the personas shared in this report are drawn directly from our work on the Google IT Support Professional Certificate initiative, they also provide broader insights into the characteristics of both learners and training models that are likely to be successful in other short-term IT credentialing programs, especially those that are offered in an online-only or hybrid context.

What types of learners thrive in this program? Through a cluster analysis, we found that five personas—types of people—are successful in this program. Armed with an understanding of who’s likely to succeed in the program, colleges and nonprofits can select and support participants effectively and in a manner that best positions the learners for long-term success in an IT career.

We offer an overview of the personas below. You can download the full report for a deeper look.

These personas were developed through a cluster analysis of 1,057 learners who had completed surveys conducted by JFF from 2019 through 2020. Five clusters emerged and were analyzed by demographic and program participation features to create the descriptions of each persona.

This work was made possible with the generous support of Google.org.