Youth Empowerment: Hanau's Journey with Google Workspace

After a thorough evaluation of various learning platforms and communication solutions, Jugendwerkstatt Hanau opted for the implementation of Google Workspace for Education. The cloud-based applications now simplify communication, facilitate knowledge exchange, and enable work from anywhere and on any device. BU PCG X Google supported the institution in acquiring the Education licences and provided several training sessions to help educators quickly familiarise themselves with apps such as Gmail, Google Meet, Chat, Drive, Calendar, etc.

The Jugendwerkstatt Hanau e. V. is a nonprofit educational institution in the field of youth welfare and a member of Diakonie Hessen. As a church-affiliated organisation, it has been assisting young people in transitioning from school to training and work since 1982. The institution provides guidance and support to students, those seeking apprenticeships, and young unemployed individuals aged 12 to 27, helping them navigate the transition into the vocational system.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jugendwerkstatt Hanau developed an internal strategy for digital transformation. The nonprofit organisation needed a modern collaboration solution to conduct counselling sessions via video chat, easily share documents with participants or educators, and communicate quickly and efficiently through chat or email. Additionally, they wanted to utilise the solution for data security and organise a quality management system. The goal was to provide employees with the easy ability to work from anywhere while keeping IT efforts for setup and administration to a minimum.

In an intensive selection process, various cloud systems were evaluated, including Office 365 with Sharepoint, Zoom, Stepnova, and Schoolfox. However, the choice ultimately fell on Google Workspace for Education.

The cloud-based applications for video conferencing, email, storage, document creation, and Google Classroom for task coordination impressed Torsten Reinhardt, Managing Director of Jugendwerkstatt Hanau, the most: "That was the best solution for us. Simultaneously, it's simple to administer". To be able to use the Education version, Jugendwerkstatt Hanau needed to be recognised as an educational institution by Google. The experts supported them in successfully navigating this process. Furthermore, BU PCG X Google provided several training sessions to help the educators quickly adapt to the new environment.

Thanks to Google Workspace for Education, the institution has significantly improved collaboration. Additionally, the ability to work remotely provides more flexibility for employees. Accessing files from home or on the go, or simply sending an email from a mobile phone – this accelerates communication. Mr. Reinhardt says, "We are thrilled, and everyone is enthusiastically on board. The easy and intuitive access streamlines our work, ultimately allowing us more time for personal interactions with our target audience". Moreover, the straightforward document management with Google Drive simplifies archiving and saves substantial amounts of paper.

Torsten Reinhardt, Managing Director Jugendwerkstatt Hanau

“Google Workspace for Education means more to us than just simple communication – thanks to the easy document sharing, it also represents an expansion of knowledge.”

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