Please note: At the time of this post, the dealership is owned by Bill Marsh Auto Group and is referred to as ‘Bill Marsh’ in this article. Bill Marsh will join the Serra Automotive family on May 6, 2024, and the Degrees@Work program will be transitioned to Serra.
When I consider the most noticeable changes in my world in the wake of the pandemic, two areas stand out.
The first is the workplace. Virtually every industry, including the retail automobile business, has felt the effects of the great resignation, quiet quitting, and other massive disruptions brought to bear on employers everywhere.
The second is higher education. As a member of the Northwestern Michigan College Foundation Board for the past 12 years, this is an area of strong interest for me.
Declining enrollments, especially at community colleges, driven by ever-increasing tuition and burdensome student debt threaten to exacerbate the growing skills gap.
How do we respond to these challenges? I believe it requires reimagining the way business and education can work together.
One shining example of this in my world is Degrees@Work, a new partnership between Stellantis, the parent company of the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands, and Strayer University, one of the largest online higher learning institutions in the U.S.
Through this program, Bill Marsh can offer a college education to our employees and their immediate families completely tuition-free. They can earn their associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree in a variety of concentrations on a flexible learning schedule designed with the working adult in mind.
For our employees, it’s a pathway to a college degree with zero debt while continuing to earn a paycheck in their current job.
For us, it’s a huge competitive advantage to retain good people AND provide an in-house talent development program to attract the best candidates who may have otherwise never considered a career in the automobile business.
Research shows that a college education is one of society’s greatest resources for upward mobility across all demographics. Thanks to Degrees@Work and other innovative alternatives to the high-tuition, high-debt college funding model, the workplace is more than just a place to earn a paycheck. It can become a vehicle for learners everywhere to unlock their full potential.
Learn more about the Degrees@Work program here and get started today.
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