Education Assistance Programs

By Jennifer Blanchard, HRTools

When employees enter the workplace, they have a set of skills they’ve attained through college studies, internship and previous employment experiences.

But they still want to know more. 

In fact, in the education-minded world of today, many employees would rather accept a position at a company where there will be on-the-job training or other education opportunities available, as opposed to a company where there aren’t any ways to continue learning. 

To develop your people after you’ve hired them, consider implementing an educational assistance program for employees who want to continue their education. 

Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition reimbursement is a great way to offer educational assistance to your employees. 

Here’s how it works: 

• An employee will sign up for a class at a local college or continuing education center
• The employee will pay out of their pocket for the cost of the class, the books, supplies, lab fees, etc.
• Then the employee will submit a receipt for the class, books and supplies at the end of the semester when they’ve completed the class with a passing grade. 

This is one of the simplest ways to offer education assistance. That way, the employer doesn’t have to pay for classes that employees don’t pass or finish. 

Some employers may choose to only allow reimbursements on classes that are directly related to the employee’s current position. For example, a Web Developer who wants to take additional development classes to keep up-to-date with the latest industry trends and software could take a class and receive reimbursement for it, but a Web Developer who wants to take a cooking class would not. 

Other employers may even choose to allow reimbursement for any type of class, as long as the employee passes and can show a receipt of payment.

Example
Here is an example of how one company operates their employee Education Assistance Program. This company allows reimbursement of up to $500 a year for courses not relating to an undergraduate or graduate degree, and up to $1500 a year for courses that are part of an undergrad or graduate degree program, as long as the course “maintains or improves skills which will be beneficial to the employee in performing his or her present job duties, anticipated job duties or assignments; or is taken as part of the employee’s undergraduate or graduate degree program.” 

Offering educational assistance to employees is one of many ways to encourage them to remain loyal to your organization. Employees will stay at a company as long as they feel appreciated and like they are getting something out of it.

Education assistance is not very expensive, and it will help you ensure that your employees are not only happy, but are also keeping on top of skills that are necessary in a changing workplace. 

When employees enter the workplace, they have a set of skills they’ve attained through college studies, internship and previous employment experiences.