'These benefits can give that extra boost - that can be a real game changer.'Ĭorrection: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Western Governors University.When I was young, I mean really young. 'There are still the constraints that all working adults have: time, the financial commitment and having the confidence to go back to the classroom,' Buban said. Roughly 36% of working women report financial barriers to education, compared with 22% of men. There's a similar discrepancy among men and women. To that point, 44% of Black employees said they are having trouble affording education, compared with 29% of white employees.

The struggle is even greater among minority groups, Bright Horizons found. The goal 'is to lower the economic barrier for our colleagues to secure a formal certification or degree, while strengthening Citi's competitive advantage,' said Cameron Hedrick, the chief learning officer at Citi - this 'helps us do both.'Īmong its clients, EdAssist has seen a 33% jump in the number of companies offering no-cost degree programs in 2022 alone, including employers such as McDonald's, Synchrony, Raytheon Technologies and T-Mobile.ĭespite the advantages and what research shows is a strong desire among respondents to go back to school, less than half of employees said they have been able to pursue educational goals in the last several years, mostly due to the time commitment and financial obstacles, according to research by Bright Horizons. More from Personal Finance: Companies are slashing parental leave benefits Here are the 'most employable' college degrees Citi expands program to boost homeownership Roughly 38,000 Citi front-line consumer banking employees will now be eligible for the expanded education benefits program, including free college, according to the company, which is working in partnership with EdAssist by Bright Horizons.

Most recently, Citi announced it is offering fully funded degrees from partner schools, including the University of Maryland Global Campus, Walden University and Western Governors University, as well as tuition assistance for bachelor's, graduate and certificate programs at other schools.

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