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Amazon has offered to pay the tuition fees of 750,000 of its frontline workers, the latest move by a large US company to offer benefits to attract and retain staff during times of labor shortages.
The company, which is investing $ 1.2 billion (£ 0.86 billion) in the program by 2025, said it would cover the cost of tuition and textbooks for hourly U.S. staff after 90 days of employment as long as they stay with Amazon.
It will also begin to cover the cost of other types of education, including high school diplomas and English courses, as well as expand on-the-job vocational training to 300,000 people.
“Amazon is now the biggest job creator in the United States,” said Dave Clark, general manager of global consumption at Amazon, in a blog post. “We know that investing in free training for our teams can have a huge impact on hundreds of thousands of families across the country. “
Amazon is the latest major U.S. company to deliver education-focused benefits to workers after similar initiatives from Walmart, Target, and Kroger. Last month, Walmart said it would pay tuition and books for its hourly staff, with around 1.5 million workers eligible. Target announced that it will offer free undergraduate degrees to more than 340,000 employees in the United States.
According to the US Department of Labor, vacancies hit a record 10.9 million in July, surpassing the number of unemployed by more than 2 million.
Earlier this month, a branch of McDonald’s in the United States urged 14 and 15-year-olds to apply for jobs to fill a shortage of workers in the fast food chain.
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In May, Amazon announced that it would hire 750,000 workers in its warehouse and delivery network in the United States and Canada. The company hired around 500,000 people last year.
“Today there are not enough workers to fill all the positions in the United States, which means that companies are struggling to hire, especially for positions that require specific or technical skills,” said Cheryl Oldham, Senior Vice President of the United States House. of the Fondation du Commerce.
“When large employers like Amazon commit to investing in their people through development programs, it helps ensure that the business community has access to a pool of workforce that meets their current needs and future. “
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