Sometimes all you need to do to advance in your career is take a chance. After initially working in customer support, Lloyd George applied for a role to get into project management without a college degree. The 29-year-old betting on himself has paid off ever since.

As high unemployment rates torpedo the livelihood of millions of Americans, Google is stepping up to assist. The tech titan introduces three new online career certificate programs in data analytics, project management, and user experience design, reports CNBC . Led by Google employees, each low-cost course teaches job-ready skills to help professionals advance in high-demand fields. Each certificate is the equivalent of a four-year college degree for related roles at the company. Additionally, the three-to-six-month-long programs are offered through learning platform Coursera and do not require a college degree. “This is not revenue-generating for Google,” says Google vice president, Lisa Gevelber. “There’s a small cost from the Coursera platform itself — the current pricing is $49 a month — but we want to ensure that anyone who wants to have this opportunity, can have it.” Along with new pathways to jobs, Google will fund 100,000 scholarships for individuals enrolled in either of...