'The demands are clear': Houston community colleges among 140 institutions in Amazon education partnership

A pair of Houston community colleges are among the over 140 institutions that have partnered with Seattle-based online retail giant Amazon to fully fund the tuition for the company’s 750,000 hourly employees, according to a press release. 

Houston Community College and Lone Star College join seven other Texas colleges and universities as partner schools in Amazon’s Career Choice initiative.

The other participating institutions in the state are Alamo College, Austin Community College, Dallas College, Tarrant County Community College, Texas State University, University of Texas at Dallas and University of North Texas.

“As Texans and Americans continue to recover from the pandemic, the demands are clear – employers increasingly rely on highly skilled workers and employees increasingly need credentials of value to compete in a globally competitive workforce,” Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Harrison Keller said in the release. “By making this commitment to its employees through higher education, Amazon is demonstrating how partnerships among employers and institutions can empower students to contribute to, participate in and benefit from our world class economy.”

HCC's Southwest Campus president and vice chancellor of workforce instruction Madeline Burillo-Hopkins is looking forward to working with Amazon.

“The Houston Community College System is excited to partner with Amazon to assist their employees to upskill and earn college credentials and degrees in high demand industry areas that will serve them in achieving their career pathways and upper economic mobility goals,” Burillo-Hopkins said in the release. “This partnership is another example of how HCC and Amazon continue to work together to enhance local communities and their employees with high quality, award-winning educational programs that provide a solid foundation for reskilling and to prepare them for further education in a variety of career pathway fields. We look forward to welcoming Amazon employees and supporting them in their career and educational goals.”

The Career Choice program allows employees to participate in each year they're employed at Amazon, the company reported.

They become eligible after logging 90 days of employment.

Career Choice enrollees can earn bachelor's degrees and industry certifications.

Launched in 2012, the program has educated more than 50,000 employees in its first decade of existence, the release said.