Dallas College, UT Dallas, the University of North Texas, and Tarrant County Community College are just four of over 140 colleges and universities participating in Amazon’s “Career Choice” partnerships, Amazon announced today.

Amazon is offering to provide fully funded college tuition to its 750,000 U.S. hourly employees as part of its Upskilling 2025 pledge—a $1.2 billion commitment to upskill more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025

The company’s Texas employees will have access to education from a total of nine colleges and universities across the state. (The other five are Alamo College, Austin Community College, Houston Community College, Lonestar College, and Texas State University.)

They’ll also have access to national online education providers, including Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University-Global, Western Governors University, and National University.

University of North Texas’ UNT at Frisco. [UNT Photo]

UNT VP calls it ‘a good match’

Adam Fein, VP for digital strategy and innovation at the University of North Texas, thinks the partnership makes for a good fit.

“In our discussions together, we knew immediately we would be a good match,” Fein said in a statement. “They were looking for a highly ranked, diverse, mature university with a strong presence in the area, and we were thrilled to offer our in-person and online undergraduate programs to tens of thousands of Amazon employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and all across Texas.”

From high school completion to Bachelor’s degrees and more

Amazon is working 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. 

Through the program, 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.

Dallas College’s Mountain View campus in Oak Cliff is just one of seven campuses located across Dallas County. [Photo: Dewberry]

Advancing careers inside Amazon—or beyond

With Career Choice, Amazon aims to further expand its employees’ career advancement opportunities for careers at Amazon—or elsewhere, if the employee so chooses.

The program allows employees to participate every year they work at Amazon, and gives them eligibility after only 90 days of employment.

“Amazon’s dedication to upskill our employees and empower their future regardless of whether or not it benefits the company is truly remarkable,” said Evan Luscher, director of operations at Amazon in Texas, in the statement. “Initiatives like Career Choice can be life-changing for some people and I look forward to seeing how the program evolves.”

Trinity River Campus of Tarrant County Community College. [Photo: TCCC]

Meeting a critical need for a skilled workforce

Harrison Keller, Texas Commissioner of Higher Education, believes this kind of effort is just what Texas needs right now.

“As Texans and Americans continue to recover from the pandemic, the demands are clear—employers increasingly rely on highly skilled workers and employees increasingly need credentials of value to compete in a globally competitive workforce,” Keller said in the statement. “By making this commitment to its employees through higher education, Amazon is demonstrating how partnerships among employers and institutions can empower students to contribute to, participate in, and benefit from our world class economy.”

Since launching in 2012, Career Choice has helped provide education for more than 50,000 employees, the company says. Career Choice is just one of nine free skills training and education programs that Amazon offers to its employees as part of its Upskilling 2025 pledge, the company said.

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