Amazon selects Tallahassee Community College as education partner to train its employees

Amazon has selected Tallahassee Community College as an education partner for its Career Choice program, ahead of the company’s anticipated plans to launch Tallahassee’s new fulfillment center in 2023.

Through TCC's partnership with the multinational e-commerce company, the college will provide Amazon’s hourly employees with training programs that include HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), machining and welding.

“The whole idea of partnering with a global effort is huge,” TCC Vice President of Workforce Innovation Kimberly Moore told the Tallahassee Democrat Thursday. “It's a wonderful opportunity for us to continue our mission of not only promoting our education platform but also economic and workforce development.”

While training programs like HVAC and machining already exist on TCC’s campus, specific additions such as Introduction to Welding will be made under the Career Choice partnership. All the offerings will be related to construction and manufacturing, with pre-paid full tuition provided by Amazon under its program.

Amazon’s Career Choice program — an educational benefit that gives the company’s employees the opportunity to learn new skills for career success — chooses education partners like TCC that focus on helping employees through their education while also assisting them with job placements.

With Amazon's fulfillment center on Mahan Drive slated to launch in 2023, it's expected to create around 1,000 full-time jobs in Tallahassee.

At the same time, a second Tallahassee facility is underway as an Amazon distribution center will be located on the southside of Northwest Passage off Capital Circle Northwest near Home Depot, with the company having plans to break ground in 2023.

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With TCC’s partnership, the program will be available to any Amazon hourly employee in Tallahassee who has been employed for at least 90 days.

“Amazon’s commitment to investing in their employees by expanding access to education and career training is exemplary, and it directly aligns with our mission as a workforce engine for our community,” TCC President Jim Murdaugh said in a prepared statement.

Besides the training offered through Amazon’s educational partnership with TCC, the company's Career Choice program also offers opportunities including foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas and GEDs.

“We’re looking forward to providing Career Choice to employees in Tallahassee,” Amazon Workforce Staffing Engagement Specialist Helen Candamil said in a release. “We work with education partners like Tallahassee Community College who are committed to student success and providing flexible schedules. At Amazon, we also provide employees with a variety of work schedules to accommodate their learning, so they can balance being an employee and a student.”

More than 90,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in the Career Choice program.

Additionally, Amazon is investing $1.2 billion toward strengthening the skills of more than 300,000 employees in the nation by 2025 with the goal of helping them move into higher-paying jobs that are in demand — whether it be with Amazon or elsewhere, according to Amazon's Career Choice Global Program Leader Tammy Thieman.

“I think that we will be a viable option for these employees, both while they're looking to expand their skills with Amazon as well as if they decide that they'd like to do something differently in the community,” Moore said.

Training through the partnership will be available during TCC’s spring term, which starts on Jan. 9.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.   

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Amazon selects TCC as education partner for its Career Choice program