Walmart is making it easier to succeed in the workforce with their new program, College2Career. This innovative fast-track strategy will allow recent graduates and even students looking for a career an opportunity to be promoted straight out of college into a management position at one of Walmart’s stores in the US.
College2Career was launched to provide an intensive management program to increase employee capabilities and improve performance. The new initiative trains interested employees so they could be eligible for top positions in stores nationwide with salaries ranging from $65K-$200K per year.
Walmart is looking for “top performers” of the program to become future store managers with an “emerging coach” position that pays $65,000 per year. According to Walmart, College2Career acts as an additional pipeline in developing high potential talent to become successful leaders of their stores.
The program is open to all Walmart workers, and Walmart intends to hire 1,000 candidates for their stores.
Amid intense competition in the labor market, College2Career is one of the methods used by Walmart to attract talents and employees into their workforce. The program allows a candidate to develop the skills necessary to snatch high positions in the largest private employer in the US, with over 1.5 million workers.
Last month, Walmart raised the pay for their long-haul truck drivers and now offers a 100% cover of college tuition. This is in response to other retailers with initiation programs that provide financial assistance to their workers to gain more employees.
Competition for labor force in the post-pandemic era
The pandemic has had a considerable impact on the US economy as the labor department estimated over 22 million jobs lost because of the lockdown protocols. These losses include everything from store closings and layoffs leading to drastic revenue falls.
With the restrictions easing, more and more jobs opened up for Americans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, companies employed more than 400 thousand workers last April – a number almost identical to what was seen in March. The evidence of the boost in employment is seen in an unprecedented 12 month-streak where more than 400,000 additional individuals get hired.
The unemployment rate has remained at 3.6% for the past few months, but experts project that it will decrease as more jobs open up due to an increasing number of people returning to the labor force. In addition, the labor market is still feeling some effects of the pandemic, with economists predicting “a cooling” effect in the months to come.
According to an expert at Glassdoor, the United States may be in for a slower 2022. Senior economist Daniel Zhao explained that data compiled this April shows evidence of a slowdown. Experts say that it’s normal given the transitions that the labor market has been through during the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods.
What Walmart is doing in the post-pandemic era
This year, Walmart is focusing on hiring skilled workers to join their team. College2Career provides opportunities for people interested in working as store managers or department heads across the country with only two years of training requirements.
With this short educational period, a candidate is already eligible to work in a top position with several benefits. Not only does College2Career open up opportunities, but it also allows Walmart to pick highly talented candidates to lead their respective teams.
Details about College2Career are available on Walmart’s website.
Opinions expressed by US Insider contributors are their own.
