Everything herestays free.
Tech skills built on Google’s programs, help finding work, and recreation at a community centre nearby. The free training is what the charity does, and there is nothing to buy afterwards.
- Free subjects
- 5
- Level
- Beginner
- Delivered in
- Multiple languages
- Free consultation
- 30 minutes
The freeprograms.
Beginner level throughout, and no background assumed. The subjects marked free are free from start to finish, with nothing to buy at the end.
Data analytics
The science of analyzing raw data to make conclusions about that information.
Free, Beginner
Coding with Python, R and SQL
High-level programming languages used in all leading IT sectors.
Free, Beginner
Data visualization with Tableau and Power BI
Translating information into a visual context so patterns can be seen and acted on.
Free, Beginner
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Free training on artificial intelligence and machine learning, from the ground up.
Free, Beginner
Microsoft Office, with a certificate
For people seeking to learn Microsoft Office, with a certificate to confirm completion.
Free, Beginner
QuickBooks, Excel and financial markets
Hands-on financial software, plus the basics of how markets work. Lighthouse lists this one without a price.
Beginner
Who itis for.
- Newcomers
- Locked out of skills training by language or cost. Training in your own language, then help with the job search.
- At-risk youth and adults in Weston and Mount Dennis
- The neighbourhood we started in, in 2016, and still work in.
- Career changers
- Data, AI, cloud and IT security on Google's own programs, at no cost, at beginner level.
- Small businesses
- Bookkeeping, payroll and tax, at posted hourly rates, from a CPA-led team. Listed separately from the free programs.
Google’s paths,at no cost.
Lighthouse is part of the Google Career Launchpad program, which Google runs for nonprofit workforce organisations. We were accepted in July 2026, into the Google DeepMind AI Research Foundations cohort. It means the training paths below are Google’s own, and so is the certificate at the end of each one.
About the program, on Google’s siteGoogle Cloud
Cloud Digital Leader and Cloud Engineer certificates
IT security
Google Cloud Cybersecurity Certificate
Machine learning
Google DeepMind AI Research Foundations
Agentic AI
Gemini Enterprise Agent Ready series
Data analytics
Google Cloud Data Analytics Certificate
- Certificates are issued by Google, never by Lighthouse
Thirty minutes, with a person, free.
The quickest way in is a free consultation. Pick the one closest to what you need. You are not committing to anything by booking it.
Book a free session- Training
- 30 minutes, free
- Data analytics
- 30 minutes, free
- Other services
- 30 minutes, free
Taught in yourown language.
For a lot of newcomers it is the language, not the ability, that keeps them out of skills training. Lighthouse offers its training in several, and there are people on the team who can work in each of the languages listed here.
- English
- Portuguese
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Italian
- Pashto
- Farsi
- Urdu
Translation in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese is a listed ongoing program in the charity’s CRA filing
Training is only halfof what happens here.
Job search and job database
Staff work with you to find the right job, not just any job.
Interview techniques
Staff help you get ready for the interview itself.
Translation
English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. It is one of the ongoing programs in the charity's CRA filing.
Tax returns preparation
Training so you can file your own return, from a CPA-led team.
Life insurance licensing preparation
Preparation for the licensing route into insurance work.
Coaching and tutoring
Academic tutoring and success-skills coaching, one to one.
There is more here than the training.
The recreation programs run alongside the training, off-site at a community centre nearby, at Black Creek Drive and Eglinton Avenue West. For a lot of people they are the reason Lighthouse stops feeling like an institution.
Off-site, Black Creek Drive and Eglinton Avenue West
- Table tennis5 tables
- Badminton2 courts
- Chess
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Sports clubBiking, tennis, swimming, volleyball, basketball
- Entrepreneurship coaching
Paid professional services, listed separately
Lighthouse also does paid accounting work, at the rates below. It is separate from the free programs, and you never need it to take one.
- Taxation
- from $100, 30 min
- Accounting
- from $50/hr, 1 hr
- Consulting
- from $50/hr, 1 hr
- Bookkeeping
- from $35/hr, 1 hr
- Payroll
- from $35/hr, 1 hr
These are the rates on our booking page
Asked beforepeople come in.
The answers are short on purpose. Anything they do not cover, ask on the free session or send a message.
- Is the training really free?
- Yes. Data analytics, Python, R and SQL, Tableau and Power BI, AI and machine learning, and Microsoft Office are free from start to finish, with nothing to buy at the end. The paid accounting, bookkeeping and tax work we do is separate, and you never need it to take the free training.
- Which languages can I train in?
- English, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Pashto, Farsi and Urdu. There are people on the team who can work in each of them, so ask for the language you are most comfortable in when you book.
- Do I get a certificate?
- The certificates come from Google, not from us. We are part of the Google Career Launchpad program, so the training paths in Google Cloud, IT security, machine learning and agentic AI are Google's own, and the credential at the end of each one is issued by Google. Our executive director holds three of them himself, and each can be checked on Coursera.
- Where do the sessions happen?
- Training happens at 2095 Weston Rd, Unit 210, Toronto. The recreation programs, including table tennis, badminton, chess and yoga, run off-site at a community centre nearby, at Black Creek Drive and Eglinton Avenue West.
- How do I get started?
- Book a free 30-minute session on our booking page, or call (416) 727-6836. We do not post weekly opening hours, so booking a slot is the surest way to get a time. You are not committing to anything by booking it.
- Are donations receipted?
- Yes. Lighthouse Training Center is a registered Canadian charity, business number 778365528RR0001, and donations go through CanadaHelps, which issues the tax receipt. Your gift pays for the free training and the help finding a job.