Facebook to train 1 mn US entrepreneurs in digital skills

Aim to give individuals and companies the tools they need to flourish in an increasingly digital economy, Facebook has vowed to train one million people and small business owners across the US by 2020. "Our plan is to work side by side with communities to provide more free in-person training, mentorship and online courses," Amy Brooks, Facebook`s Business Education Director, said in a statement on Friday.

"We`re developing local partnerships across the US so we can create free training for skills like coding, digital marketing, and more," Brooks added. "By the end of the year we plan to establish new local partnerships which include teaming up with 20 community colleges to offer digital marketing training," said Brooks.

Facebook said it also plans to train more US businesses on how to use Facebook and Instagram to build and grow their businesses using "Blueprint", which includes a free e-learning programme available in 14 different languages. Facebook launched Blueprint in March 2015.

"So far, more than 160,000 US small businesses have been trained using Blueprint, and by 2020 we plan to train an additional 250,000," Brooks said.  Facebook also announced it will launch in autumn of this year "Learn with Facebook", a free online training resource to equip people with the skills they need to grow and become drivers of their local economies.