Amazon Offers Free College Tuition Amid Labour Shortage
Sep 10, 2021 By MarketDepth
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is set to pay college tuition for 750,000 of its frontline workers, in a move to attract and keep employees amid the ongoing labour shortage. Similar to other retail giants, the company is expanding education benefits by offering thousands of employees the opportunity to finish high school or college at no expense. Employees are only required to work for 90 days before being eligible, furthermore if they later decide to leave, there is no need to reimburse Amazon for any tuition.
“Amazon is now the largest job creator in the US. We know that investing in free skills training for our teams can have a huge impact for hundreds of thousands of families across the country.”
Dave Clark, the chief executive of worldwide consumer at Amazon
The multinational e-commerce giant will be investing a total of USD1.2 Billion in the strategy by 2025. Amazon will also provide English-language courses and extended on-the-job career training to 300,000 people.
Tuition Covered by Amazon
Full time-employees are eligible to receive full subsidized tuition, while part-time workers may only receive half the benefit. Amazon stated that its workers will be able to use the benefit at “hundreds of education partners across the country.” However, workers could face limitations in which degree program they choose and each program will vary by location.
Shop Shortages Continue
Job shortages reached a record high of 10.9 Million in July, according to the US Department of Labor.
“Today, there are not enough workers to fill every job in the United States, which means businesses are struggling to hire, especially for roles that require specific or technical skill sets.”
Cheryl Oldham, a senior vice-president at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation
“When large employers like Amazon commit to investing in their people through upskilling programmes, it helps to ensure that the business community has access to a workforce pipeline that meets their needs today and in the future.”
