SYRACUSE, N.Y– Target joins the list of other retail giants covering the costs of tuition and textbook expenses for its student employees. Target announced in a press release, employees starting as early as the first day on the job will be allowed to choose from 250 business-aligned programs and 40 schools across the country.
Members from its store, headquarters and distribution centers will have access to free undergraduate degrees, certificates, boot camp programs, and textbooks with no out-of-pocket payments.
Student employee Amaya Chiriboga says having to financially cover herself has been a struggle sacrificing her time between school and work.
“This helps tremendously as I juggle between working at our store location and running back home to continue my schooling,” Amaya Chiriboga said. “A lot of people cannot always understand time management and end up working part-time and dropping out of school or quitting their job and living in debt.”
This debt-free education assistance program is part of a new sustainability strategy, Target Forward, to eliminate student debt and promote equitable access to education. The goal for its staff to achieve debt-free degrees is to create an equitable and inclusive workforce.
“This will motivate a lot of its workers to want to achieve higher levels of education while continuing to work,” Chiriboga said. “I think it’s a great program and other companies should cater more to their staff in similar ways.”
Target partners with Guild Education to invest $200 million within the next four years to have a successful program.
Target follows other retailers and companies such as Walmart and Starbucks to offer benefits for its student staff members to continue working and achieve higher levels of education within a tight job market.
