The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) has been selected as an education partner for Amazon’s Career Choice program, providing Amazon’s hourly employees access to the college’s more than 90 certificate or degree programs in high-wage, high-demand industries including healthcare, business, IT, cybersecurity, and education, among others. CCRI is the first and currently only college or university in Rhode Island that is an Amazon Career Choice partner.

Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their education journey through a variety of education and upskilling opportunities including full college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.

Amazon’s Career Choice program has a rigorous selection process for third-party partner educators, choosing partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, assisting them with job placements, and overall offering education that leads to career success.

“This partnership demonstrates what is possible when industry and higher education join together to increase access to higher education, advance social and economic mobility, and strengthen Rhode Island’s economy,” said Meghan Hughes, President of CCRI. “We are deeply grateful to Amazon for supporting their employees’ academic and career goals, and we are ready to welcome Amazon associates to our college.”

“We’re looking forward to CCRI coming on board as an education partner for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees,” said Tammy Thieman, Global Program Lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program. “We’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere. We have intentionally created a partner network of third-party educators and employers committed to providing excellent education, job placement resources, and continuous improvements to the experience. Today, over 80,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.”

For more information on Amazon’s Career Choice, visit: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice