Amazon and Southeast Technical College (STC) announced a partnership on Monday that will provide Amazon hourly employees with tuition assistance to take courses at STC.
The partnership is part of Amazon’s Career Choice program, which “empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere” by offering a variety of opportunities including pre-paid college tuition, industry certifications, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs.
STC has more than 65 associate degree, diploma, and certificate options for students to choose from, so Amazon employees will have a wide range of programs to choose from. This is the state’s second education partner for the Career Choice program and its first two-year education partner. The University of South Dakota announced its partnership in April.
Amazon recently opened its 3 million-square-foot fulfillment center in northwest Sioux Falls and is set to create at least 1,000 full-time jobs. The company is investing $1.2 billion in the Career Choice program to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs. So far, over 130,000 Amazon employees around the world have participated in Career Choice.