USD, Amazon partner for Career Choice Program to offer tuition assistance
Amazon and the University of South Dakota announced a partnership Tuesday that will give Amazon’s hourly employees tuition assistance to take courses at USD as part of Amazon’s Career Choice program.
The company’s recently-opened 3-million-square-foot fulfillment center is close to USD-Sioux Falls, making the Career Choice program “the perfect opportunity” for USD to reach more prospective students and serve the state, USD President Sheila Gestring said in a statement.
“Through this partnership, Amazon employees will have access to USD’s world-class education at an affordable price,” Gestring said. “This further demonstrates our commitment to meeting students where they are and preparing them for success in the workforce.”
More: How big is the Sioux Falls Amazon fulfillment center? South Dakota's population can fit inside
Amazon’s Career Choice program helps employees learn new skills for careers at Amazon or elsewhere through education and upskilling opportunities like prepaid college tuition, industry certification, English language proficiency, high school diplomas and GEDs.
The company is investing $1.2 billion in the U.S. to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help them move into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.
Tammy Thieman, global program lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program, said the company looks forward to USD being an education partner as the university will add to the “hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees.”
More than 130,000 Amazon employees worldwide have participated in Amazon Career Choice.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Amazon, USD partner to help employees with tuition assistance
