Facebook to launch Digital Training, Startup Training Hubs


Facebook announced a “Community Boost,” (link) program to help US small businesses grow and to equip more people with the digital skills they need to compete in the new economy.

Facebook Community Boost will visit 30 US cities in 2018, including Houston, St. Louis, Albuquerque, Des Moines and Greenville, South Carolina. Facebook will work with local organizations to provide digital skills and training for people in need of work, to advise entrepreneurs how to get started and to help existing local businesses and nonprofits get the most out of the internet.

Since 2011 Facebook has invested more than $1 billion to support small businesses. Boost Your Business has trained more than 60,000 small businesses in the US and hundreds of thousands more around the world. More than 1 million small businesses have used Facebook’s free online learning hub, Blueprint, and more than 70 million small businesses use our free Pages tool to create an online presence. And we recently created a digital marketing curriculum that will help train 3,000 Michigan residents in digital skills development over the next two years.

According to new research by Morning Consult in partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center and Facebook, small businesses’ use of digital translates into new jobs and opportunities for communities across the country. Small businesses provide opportunities for millions of people (they create an estimated four out of every five new jobs in the US), offer useful products and services, and often provide a place for people to come together. In addition:

  • 80% of US small and medium businesses on Facebook say the platform helps them connect to people in their local community.
  • One in three US small and medium sized businesses on Facebook say they built their business on the platform; and 42% say they’ve hired more people due to growth since joining Facebook.
  • Businesses run by African Americans, Latinos, veterans and those with a disability are twice as likely to say that their business was built on Facebook, and one and a half times more likely to say they’ve hired more people since joining the platform.
  • 56% of US small and medium sized businesses on Facebook say they increased sales because of the platform; 52% of say Facebook helps them sell products to other cities, states, and countries.

We want to do more to support communities across America – particularly for those who are transitioning to careers that require more digital skills.

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