Columbus State, Facebook team up
that people are discovering products and services online,” said Doug Frisbie, Facebook’s global marketing director for small business. “In order to succeed as a business, it’s critical to keep up with that.”
The program, currently in development and expected to be available at Columbus State sometime in 2019, will take a holistic approach to digital marketing and social media, Frisbie said.
“This isn’t just about Facebook, it’s about how you can gain all the digital skills that you need to be successful in today’s economy,” he said.
“We’re excited about it,” Columbus State President David Harrison said of the new Facebook partnership. “There’s a lot of student demand for expertise in digital marketing.”
The team effort with Facebook marks the latest business partnership for Columbus State. The community college already has a partnership with Apple for an app-development course, as well as with Honda for a manufacturing work-study program.
“This kind of thing is right up our alley,” Harrison said. “We try to bring the assets to bear for what the community needs.”
Facebook has announced similar partnership programs with other community colleges in recent weeks. It’s part of the tech giant’s plan to train 1 million people and small-business owners across the country by 2020.
“We know that we’re never going to meet our goal of training 1 million people all by ourselves, so we work with local organizations that are on the ground, working in communities to train people,” Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said as she announced the new partnership with Columbus State.
While Facebook survey results of small businesses and job-seekers in Columbus show similar trends to other communities nationwide, Frisbie said, central Ohio stands out in some ways, too.
“When we look at Columbus, in addition to the digital skills gap ... you also have a rich environment for entrepreneurship,” he said. “So we feel like it’s a great place to invest even more to try to close that gap.”