🔒UTC Employee Scholar Program approaches $1.2B in education spending

Q&A sits down with Amy Liedke, director of talent development for Hartford conglomerate United Technologies Corp., to discuss its extensive employee education programs.

Q: What kind of education benefits does UTC offer employees who want to pursue a graduate degree? Have education benefits changed over the years?

A: At United Technologies, we believe in lifelong learning. The UTC Employee Scholar Program (ESP) enables employees to expand their skills throughout their careers at UTC.

The program, recognized as one of the world's most comprehensive employee education programs, pays for tuition, books and fees for employees enrolled in accredited programs. In addition to prepayment of expenses, employees also receive paid time off each week to study. Unlike more typical tuition reimbursement programs, ESP places no restrictions on the course of study an employee may pursue, and there is no requirement that coursework pertain to an employee's current job.

United Technologies has invested $1.17 billion in the Employee Scholar Program since it was established in 1996. To date, UTC employees have earned more than 37,000 degrees in more than 50 countries. In 2014, nearly 8,000 UTC employees were enrolled in college programs through ESP, with more than 50 percent of them pursuing advanced degrees.

Since the adoption of the Employee Scholar Program, the program mission has changed very little.

Q: Online education seems to be in vogue. Does UTC embrace online education as a viable option for employees looking to earn a graduate degree?

A: Through UTC's Employee Scholar Program, employees have access to programs with both online and classroom learning curriculums. ESP supports our employees' decisions on how they choose to learn, as well as what degree they choose to pursue.

Some of UTC's partner universities deliver programs at our locations to provide work-life flexibility.

Q: How important is it for employees to have an MBA if they want to take on leadership and/or management/executive positions within the company? Has the value of an MBA changed over the years? Has it become more or less important over the last 10 years?

A: UTC leaders and employees hold a wide array of degree types and majors, and at varying levels. We value and believe in lifelong learning and appreciate employees who continue to grow and develop their skills with educational degree programs, corporate classroom learning or on-the-job training.

The knowledge employees acquire through the UTC Employee Scholar Program makes them more effective in their current positions and more capable of adapting to change in the global business environment. While there is no obligation for Employee Scholar Program participants to stay with the company after earning their degrees, the retention rate among employee scholars is significantly higher than for their counterparts, as is the promotion rate. Many of the ESP graduates now hold senior positions across UTC companies.

Q: What other graduate degrees are popular among UTC employees? Have any new graduate degree programs emerged geared specifically for the aerospace and building services industries?

A: The MBA remains the most popular advanced degree among UTC employees followed by graduate degrees in engineering. Employees pursue a host of other technical degrees in quality, supply management, aeronautics, manufacturing, operations and more. 


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