FCA US offering free college education to dealer employees

On Monday, FCA US said that that they will be offering free college courses and degrees to the employees who work at its network of franchised auto dealerships when they take them at Strayer University. The automaker said that the move has been designed to help dealers attract the best employees.

It will be offering free college courses and degrees through Strayer University, a university in Herndon, Va. that specializes in adult learning.

John Fox, director of dealer training at FCA US' performance institute, said, “We've built a program with Strayer University that will allow a no cost, no debt college education. There is no money out of pocket. Everything is covered. I think that is really going to allow our dealers to seek the best talent in their marketplace”.

Strayer University is a post-secondary institution. It has over 120-year history educating working adult students at various campus locations across the country and online.

The automaker's announcement has come a month after Starbucks has launched a similar program for its employees.

The automaker hasn’t share any estimate for how much the program will be costing the company and its dealers.

FCA US has said that it is sharing the cost to start the program with dealers who will be electing to participate. Also, the dealers, deciding to participate will pay a monthly flat fee, no matter how many of their employees go for the degree.

Fox said that FCA US's program will go even farther than the Starbucks program as there are no upfront costs for the workers.

Besides this, FCA US' program is for the employees, who are working at franchised dealerships and are not directly employed by the automaker.

FCA US said that the program was developed based on input from dealers and their employees. They will be offering courses ranging from business administration and accounting to education, information systems, and other areas.