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Walmart said Tuesday it would expand its $ 1 per day university benefits to current and future students and future high school students working for the company.
It will also offer up to seven hours of free university credit to high school students and provide free SAT and ACT preparation through a network of partners. Second, Walmart will fund tuition, books and fees for students at six non-profit colleges, including the University of Florida.
Students taking this program while working at Walmart will be eligible for various types of licensing and associate degrees, such as computer technology, business management, and supply chain management.
In the United States, unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in decades, posing a challenge to Walmart and other major retailers. While the rate of openings in the retail trade remains above the national average, Walmart has increased its minimum wage, extended its benefits and started paying premiums to workers who limit their absences.
Nevertheless, Walmart is looking for new ways to attract new talent.
The retailer is the largest private employer in America. There are more than 1.5 million workers in this country, but fewer than 25,000 of them go to high school today. This is below the average of the retail sector, entry level according to Walmart.
In the past, jobs in the retail trade have attracted high school students. But Walmart says that it has become increasingly difficult to recruit high school students because of scheduling problems.
Walmart is not the only company struggling to find high school students. The youth employment rate has been falling for years as fewer teenagers enter the job market. Several factors are behind this trend, such as increased attention to the activities of young people who are more likely to get them into a good college, such as summer internships or internships. volunteer programs.
But Walmart thinks that its free SAT preparation offer, credits for university courses and $ 1 a day in tuition fees will attract teens. It will also attempt to attract high school students with flexible schedules and the opportunity to work through regular shifts.
Reaching high school students is important for Walmart so the company can identify and train its next generation of talent. Walmart hopes that students who use education-related benefits will stay with Walmart after completing their education and climbed the upper echelons of the company, whether in the stores, within the supply chain of Walmart. the company or within the company.
Walmart has always built high school students. More than 300 of the approximately 4,700 US store managers from Walmart started working at high school at the time. Walmart's current general manager, Doug McMillon, also began working at Walmart in high school.
"We see this as a pipeline that we can take advantage of, but not currently," said Julie Murphy, Executive Vice President, Walmart. "We want to be able to create this connection early."
Walmart has decided to extend the college's benefits to high school students by keeping in mind "the future needs of our organization," she added.
Walmart (WMT) announced for the first time college benefits last year. The retailer claims that more than 7,500 workers have been accepted into the program, whether they are young adults or over 60 years old. They also have a varied experience. Some workers, for example, have been working in the company for decades. Walmart expects more than 60,000 students to complete this program over the next four years.
For Walmart, the college program has helped build employee loyalty and recruit new employees.
"The commercial side of all this is clear," said Drew Holler, vice president of associate experience at Walmart US.
Other companies also focus on education benefits to attract workers. Hotel chains and McDonald's have recently expanded their tariff relief programs. In 2018, McDonald's began offering $ 2,500 a year to eligible restaurant employees and $ 3,000 to tuition assistance managers. Starbucks also launched a tuition-free program in 2015.
– Katie Lobosco and Lydia DePillis of CNN Business contributed to this article.
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