Walmart: America's Largest Private Employer

Walmart is America’s largest private employer. The firm has often taken steps to maintain their legacy of highly skilled and experienced labour. But this time they are targeting their own employees. They are offering them an easy, hassle free & affordable access to a college degree. The New York Times wrote in an article covering this way back in 2010 that Walmart helped many of its unskilled workers to get their high school degrees. Walmart plans on teaching its workforce, of 1.4 million, at nominal fees in programs like bachelor degree or supply chain management. It will need its employees to pay $1 per day from their wages to enrol at one of the 3 non-profit institutions: The University of Florida, Brandman University in California or

That’s where the strategy of Walmart comes into play in the big picture. With a vision of providing education at cheap rates to its employees, Walmart is also making sure of its aim of recruiting and retaining its employees in a tight market full of unskilled labour. Nonetheless, in the recent years, Walmart has focussed mainly on serving its customers and growing its business. However, in the process it has out drifted its own workforce from the context.
Walmart’s employment tactics have been critically penned over the past few years. They have regularly been under the radar of various employees’ organisations especially in the U.S, for issues regarding its workforce. These issues include low wages, poor working conditions, inadequate health care facilities. The company has been a disappointment for many of its employees, who have always demanded higher wages to worktime

The economic reforms too, have been persuading them to do so. So, the pressure from the government is one factor. This has an indirect effect on the country’s economic state. The step taken by Walmart can be proved valuable for the country in the long run, as seen from an economic as well as financial aspect. Alternatively, workers will be more skilled, which would in turn help the company itself in raising its value in the share market. The employees thinking capabilities would improve. Investing in personal & professional success of their associates would help the company but not in the long run. The learning opportunities would empower them to serve & deliver for their customers well, while also making them financially secure, since they get education at nominal $365. But again, there is no guarantee whether the employee will stick to his company for long enough after the enrolment in the course. We can’t completely term the Walmart’s studying workforce as an “asset” to the