Employer tuition-reimbursement programs, a casualty of
the Great Recession of 2008, are making a comeback. Companies are rediscovering
that education incentives help keep workers on the job and make finding new employees
easier.
“Companies really did slash and burn their professional
development budgets,” Bruce Elliott, manager of compensation and benefits of
the Society of Human Resource Management, said in an article for The Hechinger Report. “Now we’re starting to see things come back, but
we’re seeing them come back in completely different ways.”
For instance, many new tuition-reimbursement programs limit
workers to courses from specific for-profit providers that are, in turn,
providing employers deep discounts for access to those employees. Some companies
also require employees to apply for federal financial aid before its education
benefit is applied.
“It’s not just a charitable thing,” said Jaime Fall,
director of the UpSkill America initiative. “Companies that hire frontline
workers know that if they don’t offer benefits that are competitive, they’re
going to lose out on workers who want to go to college.”
Another reason for companies to offer education
benefits is dissatisfaction with the work skills of recent college graduates.
Just 11% of business leaders told a Gallup survey they strongly agreed
that graduates were ready for work, even though 96% of higher-ed officials
believe their institutions are very to somewhat effective in preparing students
for jobs.
“This
is a way for the for-profits to maintain relevance,” said Howard Lurie, analyst
for the education consulting firm Eduventures. “They’re under the gun. It’s an
enrollment-management solution for them.”
