Free college tuition for Chrysler dealer employees

The US division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will announce that it will offer free college tuition to the 1,18,000 employees at its Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Fiat dealerships. The degree will be offered as a benefit to employees and is said to cover expenses such as books as well. The program is being offered through Strayer University - a for profit college based in Virginia.

Part-time and full-time employees who have worked at a dealership for 30 days or more are eligible to enroll in an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree program in 40 degree categories. Classes can be taken online or at one of Strayer’s 77 campuses. FCA expects to roll out the program to its 2,400 dealerships in the US later this year.

The move comes in to take away the financial burden of a college education, but more importantly – it targets better employee retention, apart from attracting people that Chrysler deems the "right kind of talent”. According to Alistair Gardner, CEO of Chrysler Brand, FCA US - the move was also motivated by the fact that multiple dealers stated that education is a frequently requested benefit by their employees.

To participate, the employee's dealership will have to pay a fixed fee to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The fee amount was not disclosed, but a bachelor's degree at Strayer usually costs around $42,000 (approximately INR 26.67 Lakh).

Source: Fortune