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Verizon’s Tuition Assistance Program helps employees pursue their dreams

Verizon’s Tuition Assistance Program helps employees pursue their dreams
Verizon

Aura Delgado was only 19 years old when she began her career with Verizon in the Corporate Service Department in December, 1999. It was a small team, but one with a lot of experience.

“The department consisted of approximately 12 employees, all of whom had 25 or more years of service,” said Aura. “But it was while working in this department with such a great group of people, that I learned about the Tuition Assistance Program as well as the other great benefits Verizon had to offer.”

Verizon’s Tuition Assistance Program offers employees across the company up to $8,000 per year to continue their education. It’s a big part of how Verizon attracts and retains employees, but the company also looks at it as an investment in its business.

“Much more than a retention tool, tuition assistance is one of the ways we support and encourage employee development, which is critical to the success of our business,” said Amy Hirsch, director of leadership development in Verizon’s Human Resources department.

“Employees who participate in the Tuition Assistance Program are developing academic credentials and critical skills that can help them grow in their current roles and perhaps take on new roles that accomplish their career goals,” she added.

Aura began using the program in 2003, and over the last 11 years she has completed four degrees and two certifications — an Associate’s Degree in business administration (2005), a tax consultant certification for federal and state returns (2006) and then corporate returns (2007), a Bachelor of Science in marketing (2007), a Master of Business Administration (2010) and a Master of Science in accounting (2014).

“I am proud to say that I am an employee who has taken full advantage of the Tuition Assistance Program,” says Aura. “The program afforded me the opportunity to pursue my dreams by assisting with my tuition needs and proved that anything is possible if given the right tools to succeed.”

Aura’s utilization of tuition assistance is a common use by Verizon employees who typically work towards associates, bachelors and masters degrees that they feel will be useful in their current roles or future ones they hope to one day move into.

“Academic degrees can make an employee a stronger candidate for new job opportunities,” says Amy. “We find that employees who take advantage of educational programs are more likely to move laterally or upward to new roles in the company, and they tend to stay longer at Verizon.”

Aura Delgado counts herself as one of them.

“By far this is not the end of my educational experience.”