My Goodwill Story: Alvaro

If you give Alvaro an inch, he’s going to take a mile. It only took a little bit of support for him to become a digital skills and AI expert.  

It all started with the Goodwill Opportunity Accelerator®, a framework designed to guide job seekers through assessments, training and career support that delivers more than just a job. At the end, the job seekers have the skills needed to land jobs, continue to advance their careers and build lives they love.  

Alvaro came to Goodwill Southwest Florida (Ft. Myers) with an interest in computer skills. He joined a digital skills group and earned nine different proctored certificates on the NorthStar Digital Literacy platform.  

Free AI Training 

He was then invited to complete the Google AI training course on Coursera. Alvaro earned the AI Essentials certificate. At the time, he was working in the Goodwill® e-commerce jewelry department but was soon after promoted to IT computer technician, which was more in alignment with his career goals. This career advancement not only put Alvaro in his preferred sector, but he also enjoyed a 9% increase in wages. 

When talking about his experience with the Google AI course, Alvaro said, “For me, the biggest benefit of completing the AI course is understanding how to write prompts, not just writing anything, but prompting to get the best results.” 

His supervisor, Jaylen, also appreciated the new AI skills that Alvaro brought to the job. “One advantage of hiring someone who understands how to use AI is their ability to increase efficiency by validating processes managed by an AI agent, rather than executing repetitive routine tasks themselves. One example for Alvaro is setting up new user accounts. An AI agent does this work, and Alvaro can review and approve.” 

How You Can Get Career Support From Goodwill 

If you’re ready to advance your career, you can take Google AI courses like Alvaro at no cost for a limited time.  

You can also start your own journey with the Goodwill Opportunity Accelerator by reaching out to your local Goodwill career center.