Google Garage Launch Event In Manchester

Google Garage launched its first outlet in Manchester this November.

It will be operational for one year and will offer a host of free courses and drop-in classes.

These classes are designed to bring people training in the technology of all kinds, from beginners courses in email to coding and programming.

Their launch was of particular note, as Google were keen to celebrate the technological history of the cities of Manchester and Salford.

Google’s chief financial officer Ruth Porat was born in Salford and moved in infancy to the San Francisco valley.

They invited the Mayor of Greater Manchester and also several business and industry leaders from various tech firms in the area, but also made sure to ask smaller businesses to the launch too.

Several of the small business that was invited was Speedy Couriers, The Harmony Music School and UK Tights. The former two spoke of their success stories that have involved using Google Digital Garage to enhance their expertise in digital marketing and build their apps and websites.

Speedy Couriers, for example, has grown using these services from a sole individual in their kitchen to courier services that employees dozens of freelancer drivers and in 2017 they covered the same number of miles that would take one around the world twice.

UK Tights did not speak but was invited as a special guest group who had used Google products previously to take their business from a home office with two employees to a £2 million per annum business of 15 staff.

Many other bigger businesses and publications were there for the launch too, such as the Manchester Evening News which has covered the event extensively. Many learning institutes were there, both with student representatives that covered the event and officials from universities such as Manchester University and MMU which have been partnered with Google on educational efforts for many years.

The Google Garage Launch was also picked up by the BBC, and the city hopes that it will help raise the educational profile of the already well-respected city of Manchester and add to its technological heritage, as per the comments of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester.