Tuition assistance has become an important incentive that companies use to keep workers. The free or discounted higher education not only improves recruitment and retention of employees, but also cuts down on student debt, says experts.
Men with bachelor’s degrees can earn up to $900,000 higher than those who only graduated from high school. Meanwhile, women’s bachelor’s degrees earn $630,000 more, according to the Social Security Administration.
“It is an underrated benefit and probably underutilized benefit,” Willis Towers Watson senior director Lydia Jilek said.
Minority groups find it harder to afford education
For employers, education-as-a-benefit is a cost-effective strategy that adds “to the stickiness of the employee,” Jilek said. “If someone can get a bachelor’s degree for no cost, that is likely to increase their loyalty to their employer.”
Chipotle chief financial officer Jack Hartung told CNBC in April that employees who take advantage of the company’s free degrees are 3½ times more likely to stay with the company and seven times more likely to move up into management.
