Google says over the next five years it will spend USD 1 billion on nonprofit organisations helping to raise education levels around the world and commit its employees to a million hours of volunteer work doing the same.

CEO Sundar Pichai announced the goal yesterday in Pittsburgh, the city where he arrived in the US from India 24 years ago.

Pichai also unveiled a program called "Grow with Google" aimed at training Americans how to get jobs or grow their businesses. The program aims to outfit people with computer and entrepreneurial skills.

The company is partnering with online education companies like Udacity and Coursera as well as charitable organizations like Goodwill and 4-H.