Amazon is increasing its investment in the education and training of front-line operators, Announced on Thursday By 2025, it will spend 1.2 billion U.S. dollars to cover all college tuition and more workers’ fees.
Beginning in January, as part of the technology giant’s career choice plan, employees who have worked for the company for three months will be eligible to receive education at hundreds of institutions across the country. Amazon said that more than 750,000 employees working in fulfillment centers and other operational positions will be eligible, of which 400,000 have joined the company since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Educational benefits will also cover high school diplomas, GED and English as a second language (ESL) proficiency certificate.
The staff’s tuition and fees will be paid by Amazon in advance, rather than through reimbursement after completing the course. As long as the staff stays in the company, they can continue to visit, and there is no limit to the number of years that the staff can benefit.
In addition to investment in education, Amazon also announced that it will add three new skills upgrading programs. Employees will have the opportunity to learn data center maintenance and technology, IT, user experience and research design.
This effort is part of Amazon’s $700 million Skills up by 2025 Commit to train 100,000 American employees to transition to high-demand, high-paying jobs. Amazon will triple its commitment to 300,000 employees.
The company said there has been a surge in demand for courses that teach software engineering, technical skills for veterans and their spouses, cloud computing, machine learning, and robotics.
Amazon’s investment in employee education coincides with the company’s release of the results of a survey Amazon-Gallup Research Regarding skills upgrading, this shows how access to skills training can lead to more career choices and higher salaries.