Better.com is continuing to grow its head count in the midst of the pandemic, announcing Thursday that it will be adding at least 2,000 Google Career Certificate graduates in the next three years.
The hiring initiative will be through Better.com’s partnership with Merit America, a nonprofit that helps Americans without college degrees get jobs.
Positions that are part of the Google Career Certificate program include high-paying jobs like user experience (UX) design, project management, and data analytics.
In a statement, Better.com officials said the hiring initiative aims to help jobseekers navigate the current economic crisis as well as ongoing workforce shifts that began before COVID-19. Currently, more than 10 million Americans are unemployed.
“It’s important to us that we look beyond things like college degrees to ensure we find smart, hard working talent from all walks of life,” said Sarah Pierce, Better.com head of operations. “We remain committed to bring opportunities to talent that is high hustle and traditionally underrepresented, including targeted hiring efforts towards veterans and laid-off hospitality workers.
In just one year, Better.com has grown its workforce from around a thousand to more than 6,000 employees — quite a feat considering the country’s floundering economy as a result of the pandemic. In November, the New York-based startup raised $200 million in a series D financing, putting its total valuation at $4 billion.
Better.com and the entire housing industry is expected to benefit greatly from the newly enacted $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which will set aside billions for those in need of mortgage and rental assistance. For those without jobs, $1,400 stimulus checks are on the way, as well.
Before the pandemic, Better.com was processing about $1.2 billion a month in loans. By October 2020, they were funding over $2.5 billion in the same amount of time.
“Better.com’s commitment to hiring at least 2,000 program graduates over three years will change lives and help break barriers for underserved talent to enter in-demand fields,” said Lisa Gevelber, Grow with Google vice president.
