In late July, retail giant Walmart announced it would offer free college tuition and books to its workers, which could be driven by tough hiring conditions in a recovering pandemic economy. Now, Target followed suit and said it will offer “debt-free degrees” to its workers.
Target’s August 4th press release’s title announced, “Offering Debt-Free Degrees to More Than 340,000 Target Team Members? Now That’s a Smart Move.”
The woke corporation, which once proudly announced it had gender-neutral bathrooms to cater to a portion of its customers, has seen business boom in the coronavirus pandemic like other retailers.
In its release, Target said that its program offers its over 340,000 part-time and full-time workers the opportunity to study for free to obtain undergraduate or associate degrees, certifications, bootcamps, in as well as covering the cost of textbooks and course fees. “It’s all covered,” Target said, “with no out-of pocket costs required.” It will work with Guild Education, an education and “upskilling platform,” which has access to forty schools and over 250 business programs, either online or in-person. Similar to Walmart’s investment, Target said it will invest $200 million into the education program over four years “to help eliminate student debt for our team.”
The corporation also said it will “fund advanced degrees… paying up to $10,000 annually for master’s programs.”
For the record, two-year master’s degree programs cost significantly more than a typical four-year undergraduate degree. At some universities, a master’s degree could cost a total of $100,000 over two years. Meaning, the $10,000 annual funding from Target would not dent that cost unless the master’s programs are cheaper than the run-of-the-mill master’s program.
Target’s starting wage is at $15 per hour, or $28,800 per year.
