Des Moines is among the first five U.S. cities to be included in an initiative launched by Facebook called Community Boost. It’s designed to help small businesses and job seekers sharpen their social media skills.
In November, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to begin a program aimed at showing small businesses and people in the job market how to expand their digital abilities. In a report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 57 percent of small business owners say they lack familiarity with available on-line tools. The manager of economic growth initiatives at Facebook, Aneesh Raman, says that’s why training is essential.
“Small businesses aren’t just anchors of local communities, but really are the engine of our economy, as you know, four out of five new jobs every year are created by small businesses,” Raman says.
Raman says more companies looking to hire want people with on-line abilities.
“We’re starting to see, in Iowa for example, 58 percent of small businesses say an individuals’ digital and social media skills, a new applicants’ skills, are important," Raman says. "That’s almost as high a percentage as where someone went to school.”
A team from Facebook will meet with small business managers and job seekers in Des Moines the first full week of June. St. Louis, Houston, Albuquerque, and Greenville, S.C., join Des Moines in being the first of 30 cities in the Community Boost project.