July 24, 2012
Amazon’s Announces ‘Innovative’ Education Program
Amazon.com has been criticized over the past year for its treatment of warehouse workers, so its newly announced Career Choice Program for those same employees is bound to face a high level of scrutiny.
The new program, described by Amazon as innovative, offers to pay for 95 percent of eligible workers’ tuition, textbooks and associated costs with an annual cap of $2,000, topping out at $8,000 for four years. To be eligible for the program, warehouse workers need to have been employed with the company for three consecutive years and take part in study programs such as aircraft mechanics, computer-aided design, machine tool technologies, medical lab technologies, nursing and others designated by Amazon.
"The program is unusual." said Jeff Bezos, chairman and chief executive of Amazon.com, in a letter posted on the site’s homepage. "Unlike traditional tuition reimbursement programs, we exclusively fund education only in areas that are well-paying and in high demand according to sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and we fund those areas regardless of whether those skills are relevant to a career at Amazon."
Amazon has not announced how many of its current employees would be eligible to take advantage of the program.
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Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: What do think of Amazon’s Career Choice Program? Will it have a positive affect on employee morale? Is this something that others in the retail space should emulate?
Poll
When paying for college, every little bit helps. That said, $2000 a year will barely put a dent in college costs for most students. And why only choose selected professions? Amazon should be saluted for this effort, but they could do better.
How many of their low-level workers are contractors, not full-time employees? And, how many last for 3 years? These jobs are notoriously high turnover. Finally, in my experience as a program coordinator for an employer-funded community college program, the key barrier is that low-wage employees have to work long hours to support themselves and their families and flat out lack the time and energy to go to school.
Empty gesture. I expect few takers. Now, if they offered living wages to all their workers, and this benefit from day one, and maybe even paid employees for their time in class and studying, then you would probably have something.
So at the current tuition rates at a state college you can get 20 hours of education or about 15 hours with books and fees. That is not enough to get even the core credits for an associate degree.
It’s interesting that they did not mention warehousing or production management as choices!
Come on Amazon…You can do better.
To shed some light on what they were criticized about, we have the Times’ story linked above.
“An expose in the Allentown Morning Call last September described summertime temperatures above 100 degrees at one local Amazon warehouse.” (I can only imagine what it’s like there this year.)
Improve morale? Not so much … maybe they should think about air conditioning. I know just the online store where they can get one.
In fairness to Amazon, it should be noted that the company announced during the spring that it was retrofitting its warehouses with air conditioning.
The saddest aspect of this attempt at making employment benefit improvements is that the company has no idea of how they are now perceived, and how poorly they performed. Employees, their families and friends choose whether or not to be customers largely by how they are treated at work.
Any company-sponsored educational funding is great. Although Amazon is selective, it is offering to pay for tuition for their loyal, long-term employees. How can this be seen as anything but good during a major recession, where employees are lucky to have a job?
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When paying for college, every little bit helps. That said, $2000 a year will barely put a dent in college costs for most students. And why only choose selected professions? Amazon should be saluted for this effort, but they could do better.
How many of their low-level workers are contractors, not full-time employees? And, how many last for 3 years? These jobs are notoriously high turnover. Finally, in my experience as a program coordinator for an employer-funded community college program, the key barrier is that low-wage employees have to work long hours to support themselves and their families and flat out lack the time and energy to go to school.
Empty gesture. I expect few takers. Now, if they offered living wages to all their workers, and this benefit from day one, and maybe even paid employees for their time in class and studying, then you would probably have something.
So at the current tuition rates at a state college you can get 20 hours of education or about 15 hours with books and fees. That is not enough to get even the core credits for an associate degree.
It’s interesting that they did not mention warehousing or production management as choices!
Come on Amazon…You can do better.
To shed some light on what they were criticized about, we have the Times’ story linked above.
“An expose in the Allentown Morning Call last September described summertime temperatures above 100 degrees at one local Amazon warehouse.” (I can only imagine what it’s like there this year.)
Improve morale? Not so much … maybe they should think about air conditioning. I know just the online store where they can get one.
In fairness to Amazon, it should be noted that the company announced during the spring that it was retrofitting its warehouses with air conditioning.
The saddest aspect of this attempt at making employment benefit improvements is that the company has no idea of how they are now perceived, and how poorly they performed. Employees, their families and friends choose whether or not to be customers largely by how they are treated at work.
Any company-sponsored educational funding is great. Although Amazon is selective, it is offering to pay for tuition for their loyal, long-term employees. How can this be seen as anything but good during a major recession, where employees are lucky to have a job?