April 11, 2023

Amazon will begin offering tuition assistance at the University of South Dakota to hourly employees as part of its Amazon Career Choice program.

USD is the state’s first education partner with the Amazon program. The concept behind it is to offer employees the chance to learn new skills that will assist in their careers at Amazon or elsewhere. That includes pre-paid college tuition, industry certification and education in foundational skills such as English proficiency.

“We are honored to be selected for Amazon’s Career Choice program,” USD President Sheila Gestring said in a statement. “Through this partnership, Amazon employees will have access to USD’s world-class education at an affordable price. This further demonstrates our commitment to meeting students where they are and preparing them for success in the workforce.”

USD enrolls more than 9,000 students and offers more than 202 undergraduate programs and 84 graduate programs. The university also offers a number of its programs in Sioux Falls.

Amazon’s newly opened fulfillment center in Foundation Park isn’t far from where USD offers its courses and is designed to employ more than 1,000 full-time workers.

The company said it chooses education partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, helping them with job placements and offering education that leads to career success.

“We’re looking forward to the University of South Dakota 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 Career Choice.

“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 130,000 Amazon employees around the world have participated in Career Choice, and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.”