Amazon’s Career Choice program will now offer fully funded tuition for local hourly workers to attend the University of Connecticut, the retail giant announced Thursday.
UConn is one of about 140 higher education institutions officially joining the Career Choice program, which aims to “upskill” workers while they maintain their jobs at Amazon. Up until today, the initiative had covered only partial tuition for select adult education courses, but that will change as Amazon pumps $1.2 billion into education projects with the goal of assisting 300,000 employees obtain new degrees and certifications by 2025.
Company officials said the benefit will extend to UConn’s Storrs, Hartford, Groton, Stamford and Waterbury campuses.
“UConn is excited to be part of the Amazon Career Choice network,” said Ruth Kustoff, Director of Continuing and Professional Education at UConn. “We are looking forward to providing higher education opportunities to Amazon employees through our Storrs and regional campuses.”
Capital Community College in Hartford is also joining.
“Capital Community College is proud to partner with Amazon to equip our students with valuable workplace credentials that lead to good paying jobs and careers in the IT field,” said G. Duncan Harris, Capital’s CEO. “We’re confident that this relationship will be a game-changer for the residents of Hartford and the region seeking an on-ramp into the field.”
Amazon employees are eligible to participate in Career Choice after working at the company for 90 days. Workers can take classes online or in person.
