http://www.chron.com/business/technology/article/Facebook-picks-Houston-for-Community-Boost-12505733.php
Facebook picks Houston for Community Boost digital training
Published 8:00 am, Thursday, January 18, 2018
Facebook will teach digital skills to job seekers, business owners and online newbies April 3-6 when the Facebook Community Boost program comes to Houston.
Facebook Community Boost will take place in 30 U.S. cities throughout 2018. Details for the first five cities - Houston, St. Louis, Albuquerque, N.M., Greenville, S.C., and Des Moines, Iowa - were announced Thursday. In Houston, a survey found residents have both a need for and interest in learning digital skills.
"People have a really good understanding of the skills that are in demand," Laura McGorman, Facebook's public policy research manager, told the Chronicle. "They just need access to training."
Facebook teamed up with Morning Consult to survey more than 1,000 Houstonians. Managers identified digital skills as critical, but they often didn't feel proficient in those skills. For instance, the majority of managers polled said creating a mobile-friendly interface is important to growing their business, yet few rated themselves highly in this area.
Overall, 77 percent of Houston managers and 93 percent of job seekers said they were interested in improving their digital skills.
To address these and other findings, Facebook Community Boost will work with local organizations to provide programs for job seekers, business owners, people getting online for the first time and community leaders.
Job seekers will learn to improve their digital and social media skills, ideally helping them land new positions. Business owners will discover ways to expand their digital footprint and find new customers in Houston and around the world. Online newbies will learn the basics of digital literacy and online safety. Community leaders will be taught about Facebook's Events and Groups features.
"I think Texas is a hugely innovative place with a lot of small businesses that are coming online," McGorman said.
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 U.S. 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 its Pages tool to create an online presence.
McGorman said Facebook places such an effort on small businesses because it provides "both an impact on the economy and an impact on communities."
Specific details on registering for Facebook Community Boost are forthcoming. In the meantime, McGorman recommends visiting facebook.com/business/m/community-boost to provide feedback that will guide the type of training Facebook offers in Houston.
"We are very dedicated to making this training demand driven and based on demand from the Houston community," she said.
Lending Tree
