The University of South Dakota has been selected as the state’s first education partner for Amazon’s Career Choice program, providing Amazon’s hourly employees tuition assistance to the university.
“We are honored to be selected for Amazon’s Career Choice program,” said USD President Sheila K. Gestring. “Through this partnership, Amazon employees will have access to USD’s world-class education at an affordable price. This further demonstrates our commitment to meeting students where they are and preparing them for success in the workforce.”
USD is the state’s flagship university, enrolling more than 9,000 students. USD offers more than 202 undergraduate programs and 84 graduate programs. The university also offers a number of premier programs in Sioux Falls, designed to meet the growing needs of South Dakota’s largest and fastest growing communities.
Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their education journey through a variety of education and upskilling opportunities including pre-paid college tuition, industry certification designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas and GEDs. In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help them move into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.
Amazon recently opened a 3-million-square-foot facility at Foundation Park in northwest Sioux Falls, supporting several full-time and part-time jobs.
“The fulfillment center is in close proximity to USD – Sioux Falls, making the Career Choice program the perfect opportunity for USD to reach more prospective students and allow us to continue serving the state,” said Gestring.
Amazon’s Career Choice program has a rigorous selection for third-party partner educators, choosing partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, assisting them with job placements and overall offering education that leads to career success.
“We’re looking forward to the University of South Dakota coming on board as an education partner for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees,” said Tammy Thieman, global program lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program. “We’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere. We have intentionally created a partner network of third-party educators and employers committed to providing excellent education, job placement resources, and continuous improvements to the experience. Today, over 130,000 Amazon employees around the world have participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.”
To learn more about USD and the Amazon Career Choice program, visit usd.edu/amazon. For additional information, visit aboutamazon.com/news/
Comments