Cook County Announces New Partnership with Grow with Google to Bring No-Cost Scholarships to Adult Learners

(COOK COUNTY, IL)–Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today announced an exciting new partnership between Cook County’s Project Rainbow initiative and Grow with Google that will open doors for adult learners. Through this collaboration, no-cost scholarships will be made available for Google Career Certificates, helping hundreds of residents gain the skills they need to grow their careers or start new ones.

This important partnership marks the next chapter for Project Rainbow to focus not only on childhood education, but now also on adult learners who are eager to re-skill or take the next step in their professional journey.

“Project Rainbow is about giving every Cook County resident learning tools for their growth,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “These incredible learning scholarship opportunities will help those seeking to accelerate their professional career path, looking for a first job, changing careers, or even getting back into the workforce to build the skills they need to thrive in today’s ever-changing job market and economy.”

“From the very beginning, Project Rainbow has been about removing barriers to learning,” said Nick Shields, creator of Project Rainbow. “By partnering with Google, we are able to offer hundreds of adult learners throughout Cook County an opportunity to gain an immense new skillset that employers are looking for right now. This is about making sure talent in Cook County gets every chance to succeed and thrive.”

Google Career Certificates are flexible online courses that prepare learners for jobs in high-demand areas such as IT support, data analytics, cybersecurity, digital marketing, and project management.

No college degree or prior experience is needed.

Through this partnership, program graduates will not only have access to free courses but also support from Grow with Google to help them prepare for interviews via Interview WarmUp and connect to career opportunities. This opportunity is open for all Cook County residents.

Since 2018, over 350,000 people have graduated from the program in the U.S. Over 70 percent of them report a positive career impact—such as a new job, higher pay, or a promotion—within six months of completion.

Scholarship recipients will need access to a computer and the Internet.

Since 2021, the Office of the President’s Emmy-award winning Project Rainbow initiative established Cook County’s first ever mobile app. It has created and partnered with world-class organizations and institutions to acquire hundreds of hours of childhood content for children and families, helped establish the Provident Scholarship Fund which has awarded more than $4 million in scholarships to over 200 students in the medical field since 2022 and much more.

By bringing Google Career Certificates into the program, Project Rainbow continues to expand pathways for residents to build confidence, skills, and brighter futures.

For more information regarding Project Rainbow and the Grow with Google no-cost scholarships, please continue to visit projectrainbow.cookcountyil.gov for upcoming future updates.