Target employees are about to get a nice perk. The company has just announced it will pay tuition for business courses for everyone who works for the retailer.
All U.S.-based Target employees will be eligible for debt-free select undergraduate degrees, certificates, certifications, free textbooks and more under the new initiative. The offer includes 250 business-aligned programs from over 40 schools, colleges and universities and up to $10,000 annually for master’s programs.
“Target employs team members at every life stage and helps our team learn, develop and build their skills, whether they’re with us for a year or a career,” Melissa Kremer, chief human resources officer for Target, said in a press release.
“A significant number of our hourly team members build their careers at Target, and we know many would like to pursue additional education opportunities. We don’t want the cost to be a barrier for anyone, and that’s where Target can step in to make education accessible for everyone,” Kremer added.
Target employs more than 340,000 frontline team members and the retailer says it will invest $200 million over the next four years into the tuition program.
While the program is geared toward employees interested in business degrees and only covers select schools, Target says it will provide direct payments to schools attended by other student-employees of up to $5,250 for non-master’s degrees and up to $10,000 for master’s degrees each year.
The program is one of many initiatives being offered by major companies across the U.S. right now as they all race to hire new employees.
Walmart announced a similar initiative to Target’s recently, saying it will pay 100% of college tuition and books for approximately 1.5 million Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S.
Previously, Walmart and Sam’s Club associates paid $1 a day to participate in the Live Better U program, but that fee has now been waived and the retailer says they’ll be investing nearly $1 billion over the next five years in career-driven training and development.
Like Target’s program, Walmart’s announcement is also for select degree paths and specific schools.
Starbucks made a splash in 2014 by creating its tuition assistance program, which the coffee chain has only expanded in the years that have followed. Chipotle offers a similar program, which it also recently expanded to cover additional degree tracks.
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