Thomas More University Student

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS PAVE WAY FOR THOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY AS LEADER IN AREA WORKFORCE PREPARATION

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (March 3, 2022) — Thomas More University recently partnered with e-commerce giant Amazon to participate in the Amazon Career Choice program. Amazon hourly employees can take course work toward any Thomas More program or badge they wish with tuition waivers provided by the company in an effort to promote career success and strengthen skills in the area’s workforce.

“We are thrilled to partner with Amazon on the Amazon Career Choice program,” says Thomas More University President, Joseph L. Chillo, LP.D. “We are honored to work with a company that truly values the benefits of high-quality education and is working to elevate the region’s workforce. Amazon hourly employees will now have the opportunity to benefit from the premier Catholic Liberal Arts education offered at Thomas More University at no tuition expense.”

Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers Amazon employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. Amazon provides a variety of education and upskilling opportunities including full college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.

In August 2021, the major logistics company officially opened the Amazon Air Hub, an 800,000-square-foot facility located at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Supporting a growing air cargo network, the Hub has already assisted over 14,000 small to medium Kentucky business owners and independent authors in expanding their businesses. The $1.5 billion Amazon Air Hub is expected to create over 2,000 full-time jobs for area residents, making Thomas More’s participation in the Career Choice Program a vital tool for area workforce.

Thomas More’s Digital, Graduate & Professional Programs is no stranger to community partnerships, having developed innovative programming designed for working adults through fostering relationships with some of the most prominent organizations in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region, all in an effort to bolster the region’s economic, healthcare, and educational industries. Community workforce needs are addressed through partnerships like the one with St. Elizabeth Healthcare, which gave their nursing staff the opportunity to increase their skill level and further their career by participation in Thomas More’s RN to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program as an employer specific cohort, opening avenues to retaining and engaging staff. In response to local educator demands, Thomas More also works with regional school districts to assist in the recruitment and retention of teachers through an accelerated Master of Arts in teaching program. The program is designed for individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree, allowing them to earn their master’s degree in teaching and their initial certification all at the same time.

Thomas More also seeks to accommodate those not interested in a degree-seeking program with new non-credit micro-credentials and badges, launched in direct response to employer needs, adding valuable skills for employees. These professional credentials are created with working individuals in mind, with offerings in a self-paced, online format. Credential offerings differ from most other programs by integrating optional expert facilitated sessions.

For more information about Thomas More University, visit www.thomasmore.edu.

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About Thomas More University

For 100 years, Thomas More has created a university for the student who wants to Be More, Do More, Seek More, Win More, Achieve More, and Create More. Since its founding in 1921, Thomas More has provided a mission-driven, liberal arts education that is based in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Students learn to harness the power of human reason to solve problems and discover truth, which allows them to begin the journey to become the person they were created to be. Entering into the second century, it’s time for More. Serving more than 2,000 students, Thomas More aspires to be the premier Catholic university in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region, to build upon the #1 ranking for long term gain in Kentucky (2019 Georgetown study) and share with this generation the transformative power of the Thomas More experience. To find out more, visit thomasmore.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lyna Kelley, director of communications and PR, kelleyl@thomasmore.edu, 859.344.3309