Lowe’s helps associates grow their careers
Lowe’s announced a new education program to make it easier for associates to grow their careers.
The new benefit gives full-time and part-time associates access to 100% debt-free programs, unlocking opportunities for over 300,000 eligible associates to pursue their educational and career aspirations.
“At Lowe’s, we believe greater access to education leads to more opportunities, and our success is intertwined with our associates' success and their ability to continuously learn,” said Janice Dupré, Lowe's executive vice president of human resources.
In partnership with social impact company Guild, Lowe’s is offering over 50 academic programs across 23 universities and learning providers in Guild’s Learning Marketplace, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
“We actively listen to our associates to identify how we can help them in the many facets of their lives. This debt-free education offering is one of the many ways we’re working to help our associates reach their career potential while knocking down traditional barriers that often make it difficult for them to obtain a degree,” said Dupré.
Research conducted by Guild, said the retailer, found that its students enrolled through employer programs like Lowe’s are twice as likely as the average employee to receive a promotion or new role.
“With the persistent war for talent, it’s more critical than ever to invest in employees,” said Rachel Carlson, Guild’s CEO and co-founder.
“By offering debt-free education and upskilling, Lowe’s is expanding their long-term strategic commitment to providing career pathways, skills and support that every worker needs to open doors to their dreams,” said Carlson.
The free programs are designed to help associates excel in their jobs today and build toward the careers of tomorrow within Lowe’s, including pathways into supply chain, logistics, data analytics, cybersecurity, technology and more.
Lowe’s said it is committed to creating pathways for more people to access higher education while strengthening its pipeline of associates from all backgrounds and experiences. Academic partners in the Guild program include the University of Arizona – a Hispanic-serving institution – and HBCUs such as Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University and Paul Quinn College.
For 20 years, Lowe’s has partnered with top scholarship organizations to contribute to student success. Recently, Lowe’s announced a $9 million investment in select schools and scholarship programs to provide traditionally underserved students with greater access to higher education and pathways to future Lowe’s employment.
Additionally, Lowe’s offers a long-standing tuition reimbursement program, which reimburses associates up to $2,500 annually in education expenses. Lowe’s also continues to offer Track to the Trades, a company-funded pre-apprentice certificate program to help up to 4,000 part-time and full-time associates pursue careers in the skilled trades each year.
Headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s Companies, Inc., is a home improvement company serving approximately 19 million customer transactions a week in the U.S. and Canada, with fiscal year 2021 sales of over $96 billion.