MOORESVILLE, North Carolina — Lowe’s introduced a new education program designed to facilitate the career development of associates. The new benefit gives full-time and part-time associates access to 100% debt-free programs, which Lowe’s says opens opportunities for more than 300,000 eligible associates to pursue their educational and career aspirations.
In partnership with Guild, Lowe’s offers more than 50 academic programs at 23 universities and training providers in the Guild Learning Market, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The free programs are designed to help associates excel in their jobs today and prepare for tomorrow’s careers with Lowe’s, including pathways to supply chain, logistics, to data analytics, cybersecurity, technology, etc.
Lowe’s points to research conducted by Guild which indicates that students enrolled in similar employer programs are twice as likely as the average employee to receive a promotion or new role.
“At Lowe’s, we believe that greater access to education leads to more opportunity, and our success is closely tied to the success of our associates and their ability to continually learn,” said Janice Dupré, Vice President Lowe’s human resources executive. “We actively listen to our associates to identify how we can help them in the many facets of their lives. This debt-free education offer is one of the many ways we work to help our associates reach their career potential while breaking down the traditional barriers that often prevent them from earning a degree.
Lowe’s new education program offers debt-free tuition assistance to associates seeking undergraduate certificates or degrees, or enrolling in graduate English language learning programs. high school or college prep. The education benefit is designed for busy working adults, Lowe’s says, offering flexible tuition, fully covered textbooks and course fees, and one-on-one support from Guild coaches. Lowe’s will continue to provide direct payments of up to $2,500 per year in tuition assistance for more than 165 additional academic programs serving Associates to reduce the burden of costly upfront tuition.
Additionally, Lowe’s offers a long-standing tuition reimbursement program, which reimburses associates up to $2,500 per year in tuition fees. Lowe’s also continues to offer Track to the Trades, a company-funded pre-apprenticeship certificate program to help up to 4,000 part-time and full-time associates pursue careers in the skilled trades each year. Lowe’s covers 100% of tuition for Track to the Trade degrees in HVAC, Solar, Commercial HVAC, Appliance Repair, Multifamily Facilities Management, Electrical, and Plumbing.
Kelly Pennington, a schedule and personnel administrator at Lowe’s store in Madison, Tennessee, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science through online coursework with Wilmington University. Her learning experience inspired her to encourage others to enroll in Lowe’s education programs.
“When I hit my 20s at Lowe’s, I thought, ‘I think it’s time to venture out and go in another direction.’ But as I continue to learn throughout schooling, I could actually take that and apply it more with Lowe’s,” Pennington said. “Being involved in the position I’m in now, I can actually promote the training from other associates. A lot of times when I mention that I’m going back to school and Lowe’s is paying for it, they’re like, “Really? You kind of see them light up.”
