About 1.5 million part-time and full-time U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club
associates are eligible to earn college degrees or learn new trade skills without
taking on student loan debt. As the largest private employer in the U.S., Walmart
is uniquely equipped to effect change and is doing so by investing $1 billion over
the next five years in career-driven training and development.
Many of the program participants are non-traditional students. For
example, they may be caregivers, be adults, or lack a support system for
educational success. This newly acquired education and training helps them
move up the career ladder at Walmart.
Walmart continues to prioritize the advancement of people of color, Latinos
included. In a recent Lumina study of Walmart’s LBU program, 18 percent of
hourly associates at Walmart are of Latino origin. Comparatively, 16 percent of
LBU participants identify as Latino.
Since its launch in 2018, more than 52,000 associates have participated
in the program, and 8,000 have graduated. Williams-Moore says nearly 28,000
associates have been active in an LBU program this summer alone. Most
participants are women and nearly half are people of color.
Walmart currently partners with 12 academic providers to offer over
50-plus online programs, including Bellevue University, Brandman University,
Johnson & Wales University, Pathstream, Penn Foster, Purdue University Global,
Southern New Hampshire University, University of Arizona, University of Denver,
University of Florida, Wilmington University and Voxy EnGen.
Programs are wide-ranging and include SAT/ACT prep, several certificates
such as Human Resources Management, high school completion, ESL/Language
programs, college preparatory classes, career diplomas in various skills and
trade fields like plumbing and construction; a number of associates degrees
such as in business administration and cybersecurity; and, bachelor degrees
ranging from electrical and computer engineering to healthcare administration.
“Over the coming years,
we will continue to
have Latino associates
represented and
encourage them to attend
universities where they
feel included, comfortable
and excited to attend.”
— Beth Williams-Moore .
“I’m really proud of Walmart where we’re committed to creating a culture
where associates feel not only included but engaged,” Williams-Moore shares.
“We absolutely value a diverse pool of leaders. We also have a number of
associate resource groups like the Latinx Network Associate Resource Group
that creates access to development opportunities for its members. Walmart taps
into those groups to help feed our talent pipeline.”
She is particularly proud that Walmart offers LBU educational program
participants Guild Education Coaches from the first day they enroll until they
graduate. Coaches help with applications, enrollment, and the general logistics
of acquiring a degree.
“This type of academic counseling enables our associates to complete their
degrees,” Williams-Moore says. According to Williams-Moore, Walmart partners
with Latino-serving academic institutions - including most recently the
University of Arizona – and historically Black colleges and universities to build
relationships with the community and create access to opportunities. Walmart is
also looking to bring on other partners as well.
“Over the coming years, we will continue to have Latino associates
represented and encourage them to attend universities where they feel included,
comfortable and excited to attend,” she adds.
LBU is part of Walmart’s long-term employee retention and promotion
efforts to help its associates grow within the company. Participants are promoted
at a 2x higher rate than non-participants and are retained at 20 percent higher
rate than non-participants.
LS
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