Boeing is launching new educational initiatives to follow through on its pledge to spend $100 million of its federal tax savings on workforce development programs.
The initiatives include a partnership with Degreed.com to give employees access to online lessons, certification courses and degree programs.
Another initiative will put $6 million into a partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and several historically black colleges and universities. That investment will support scholarships, internships and boot-camp programs to help students experience what it’s like to work at Boeing, the company said.
There’ll also be several new programs to help Boeing employees enhance their technical skills and keep up with industry trends. The focus of the first program will be digital literacy, Boeing said.
The initiatives were set up after a crowdsourcing campaign that collected more than 40,000 ideas from employees with the aid of an online survey and dozens of iPad-equipped “Idea Stations” at Boeing worksites.
“When we asked our people how best to invest in their learning and development, they spoke up loud and clear,” Heidi Capozzi, Boeing’s senior vice president of human resources, said today in a news release. “We listened and read every single idea that was submitted. Our long-term plans represent a down payment on the future of our employees and tomorrow’s technical workforce.”
When Congress approved a tax-cut bill last December, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg pledged to devote $300 million to charitable contributions and workplace investments.
A third of that sum was set aside for workforce development. An equal share was earmarked for corporate giving, and the other $100 million is to go toward “workplace of the future” facilities and infrastructure enhancements for Boeing employees.
