[robomartin]

Strictly speaking, neither Google nor any other single entity is responsible for giving anyone any opportunity of any kind; to work, learn, grow, etc. That they do is is very cool.

From my experience, the best people at anything (it doesn't have to be coding, anything in life) are those who caught a glimpse of something that resonated with them and, from that point forward, could not let it go.

In other words, from my perspective, the opportunity to grow is created by the person, not by external actors.

Here's a simple example: How often the children of very rich people end-up being complete losers? They don't lack resources at all. They don't lack opportunity at all. What they lack is hunger, exposure, discipline, struggle and that something that creates that spark that inspires so many to excel.

This is why I said that what Google is doing is great. You don't need to put people through a full CS curriculum for them to be useful and, more importantly, to change their lives. What they do with the experience and insight after that is up to them.