Amazon has engaged in partnerships with institutes of higher learning in New Jersey to cover tuition costs for frontline employees.
In New Jersey, frontline employees will have access to:
- Camden County College (Camden City and Blackwood Campuses, The Rohrer Center)
- Hudson County Community College
- Mercer County Community College (James Kerney and West Windsor Campuses)
- Middlesex College (Edison and New Brunswick Campuses, Perth Amboy Center)
- Rowan College at Burlington County
- Rowan College of South Jersey
- Rowan University
- Rutgers University – Newark
These partnerships are part of Amazon’s initiative to expand career advancement opportunities it offers its 750,000 hourly employees in the U.S. by partnering with more than 140 national and local universities to provide fully-funded college tuition. The announcement is part of the company’s ongoing enhancements to Career Choice—an Amazon upskilling program designed to help frontline employees grow their skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere.
“New Jersey’s Community Colleges are excited to partner with Amazon to assist their employees to gain new skills and to earn credentials and degrees relevant to the state’s economy, said Dr. Aaron Fichtner, President of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. “New Jersey’s Community Colleges are deeply rooted in their local communities and will provide Amazon employees with a high-quality foundation that will prepare them for further education and a successful career in a wide variety of fields.”
Front-line employees in New Jersey may also take classes offered by new national nonprofit education providers, including Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University–Global, Western Governors University, and National University. Amazon is also partnering with GEDWorks and Smart Horizons to provide high school completion and GED preparation, Voxy EnGen and goFLUENT to provide English language proficiency training, and Outlier to provide college preparation courses—all for free.
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 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.
“Empowering our frontline employees with educational resources and opportunities like this is exactly what we mean when we say we’re striving to be Earth’s Best Employer,” said Colin Newman, Amazon Public Policy Director for New Jersey. “Amazon is very proud to be partnering with community colleges across New Jersey, Rowan, and Rutgers-Newark to cover the costs of higher education, further training, and more. And this is just the start – we are looking forward to partnering with more Garden State schools in the months ahead.”
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 of fully paid parental leave, and additional benefits for employees and their families.
To learn more about Career Choice, visit: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice
To learn more about Amazon’s $1.2 billion investment to upskill 300,000 employees in the next four years, visit: http://aboutamazon.com/upskilling2025
Amazon jobs are available in hundreds of cities and towns across America. Interested candidates can see the regions with open positions at www.amazon.com/apply.
