Amazon announced recently more than 140 colleges and universities that the company will partner with to provide fully funded college tuition to its more than 750,000 hourly employees. In Florida, employees will have access to education from the University of Florida, Florida International University, the University of Central Florida, Miami Dade College, Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, Valencia College, Florida State College at Jacksonville as well as national online education providers, including Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University – Global, Western Governors University and National University.
Amazon will also partner with GEDWorks and Smart Horizons to provide employees with free high school completion and GED preparation, Voxy EnGen and goFLUENT to provide English language proficiency training and Outlier to provide college preparation courses.
These new partnerships are part of Amazon’s continued investment in its Career Choice program, which now offers fully funded college tuition, allows employees to participate every year they work at Amazon and gives them eligibility after only 90 days of employment. Through Career Choice, employees can pursue a bachelor’s degree, earn industry certifications leading to in-demand jobs and build skills through English language proficiency and high school completion programs.
With Career Choice, Amazon works to make it easy for employees to advance their education—even building classrooms on-site in many of its buildings. Employees can take classes online, in person at a local university or on-site in one of the over 110 Career Choice classrooms located in fulfillment centers in 37 states. Since launching in 2012, Career Choice has helped provide education for more than 50,000 employees.
As of this announcement, Amazon’s Career Choice program works with more than 180 education providers across the U.S., which, along with colleges and universities, includes partners providing industry certifications, English language proficiency and high school completion programs. Career Choice is one of nine free skills training and education programs that Amazon offers to its employees as part of its Upskilling 2025 pledge.
“As an Amazon employee, I’m excited to participate in the enhanced Career Choice program,” said Francisco Ortega, fulfillment employee at Amazon’s Opa-locka facility. “When I heard Amazon was expanding Career Choice, I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to learn new skills and ultimately grow to the next level in my career.”
Career training is just one of the industry-leading benefits that Amazon offers to its team. In addition, Amazon pays employees an average starting wage of $18 per hour, which is more than double the federal minimum wage, and provides comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, up to 20 weeks fully paid parental leave and additional benefits for employees and their families.
To learn more about Career Choice, visit www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice.
