Amazon partners with UK, other Ky. universities to provide scholarships for workers
Amazon has partnered with the University of Kentucky and other Kentucky universities in an effort to provide higher education opportunities to its front-line employees, the company announced Thursday.
Along with UK, Amazon also partnered with the University of Louisville, Thomas More University, Campbellsville University, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Gateway Community and Technical College and Jefferson Community and Technical College to provide fully-funded college tuition to local front-line employees.
The partnerships are part of Amazon’s “Career Choice program” – an initiative created to help frontline employees grow their skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. Employees with Amazon are eligible for the Career Choice program and fully-funded college tuition 90 days after employment.
“We are appreciative of the support Amazon is providing their employees to improve and learn new career skills,” Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said in a statement, according to Amazon. “With the Career Choice program, and this new partnership with University of Kentucky, our residents can continue to learn, grow, and gain access to more highly-skilled careers.”
Alicia Boler Davis, Amazon’s senior vice president of global customer fulfillment, said the company was “thrilled” to add more education partners.
“We’re committed to empowering our employees with easy access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere,” she said in a statement.
Amazon launched the program in 2012 and has helped provide education to more than 50,000 employees, the company said. Amazon has pledged $1.2 billion towards the program to provide more than 300,000 employees with the opportunity to seek higher education
“I am thankful to Amazon, and these colleges and universities, for enhancing Kentucky’s strong Adult Education network through this partnership,” Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said in a statement. “When companies invest in their employees’ education, they see a huge return on that investment and expand the scope of success for all of Kentucky.”
Front-line employees in Kentucky can also take classes offered by national nonprofit education providers, including Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University–Global, Western Governors University and National University, Amazon said.
Amazon is also partnering with GEDWorks and Smart Horizons to provide high school completion and GED preparation, Voxy EnGen and goFLUENT to provide English language proficiency training, and Outlier to provide free college preparation courses.
