Giving Compass' Take:

• The Aspen Institute's Jaime S. Fall asks Juan Garcia, Amazon's global leader for career advancement what makes Career Choice, Amazon's tuition assistance program, stand out from other companies and what advice can he pass on.

• How can other companies emulate the program? What are the benefits?

• Read and compare other philanthropic initiatives trying to help strengthen education pathways.

What makes Amazon’s Career Choice program different from other companies’ tuition assistance programs?
Many companies have generous tuition assistance programs, but Career Choice is peculiar in a number of ways. First, we designed the program specifically for the hourly associates in our Fulfillment Centers and other operations buildings. Also, we do the homework – working with data and predictions from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and others – to determine which in-demand fields of study are most likely to lead to jobs, and fund only courses of studies that will lead to those occupations.

It’s been exactly four years since you first piloted Career Choice. What is something you’ve learned over the course of that time?

We have been impressed by how many associates are eager to continue their education and obtain new skills. So, we have innovated new ways to reduce barriers to help even more people participate in Career Choice.

How is Amazon measuring the success of Career Choice?

We measure the success of Career Choice in two ways. One, are we providing this opportunity to as many associates as possible? And two, are we successfully helping those associates pursue their goals?

Does Amazon offer or plan to offer any assistance for people who finish a two-year degree and want to pursue a four-year degree?

Career Choice is designed to help people take that initial step toward pursuing their dreams. Its purpose is to open a door that might otherwise not have been open to an associate.

What advice would you give to other companies considering creating tuition assistance program?

We’ve put together a toolkit for other companies to begin offering Career Choice to their employees in under 100 days. We’re open-sourcing our program, and are eager to show other companies how we built it.

Read the full article about questions about career choice by Jaime S. Fall at The Aspen Institute