Google to Launch a New Tech Academy With an Airline

Southeast Asian airline AirAsia is partnering up with Google to launch a new tech academy that will reskill employees.

“AirAsia Google Cloud Academy” will be the first of its kind and will be managed by the airline’s venture arm, RedBeat Ventures.

The academy will offer courses that include digital marketing, software engineering and tech infrastructure design; all of which will be accredited by Google.

According to Google Cloud’s Southeast Asia regional director Tim Synan who stated to CNBC Make It, the deal would enable participants to better understand its technology.

“Together we’re working to upskill AirAsia AllStars with relevant expertise in Google Cloud technologies and build deep technical knowledge and Cloud expertise including Kubernetes, smart analytics, Cloud AI and more,” he stated.
AirAsia’s group president, Aireen Omar, told the Nikkei Asian Review the academy will initially open to current employees next month, before being extended to the public by year end.

Omar said that the launch is part of the budget carrier’s long-term strategy to prepare workers for the shifting jobs landscape.

“More jobs might become redundant in the next three years, so we are giving our employees the opportunities to reskill to suit the digital economy,” Omar told Nikkei.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and have not been compensated for this article.