PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aramark (NYSE:ARMK), a global leader in food, facilities management and uniforms, announced today that it will provide the opportunity for eligible hourly associates in the U.S. to receive full tuition coverage for college degrees, through InStride, the first global learning services enterprise designed specifically to connect prominent employers to leading universities, including Arizona State University.
The Aramark Frontline Education Program is part of a $90 million investment the company made in its employees earlier this year that also includes targeted wage and benefit increases, as well as additional training and development.
“Our mission to Enrich and Nourish Lives means we have a responsibility to help our employees achieve their full potential and lead fulfilling lives,” said Eric J. Foss, Aramark’s Chairman, President and CEO. “Education is key to making that happen and we are proud to provide this learning pathway to our dedicated frontline team members who want to advance their education and grow their careers.”
Eligible Aramark associates will be able to earn their degrees from high-quality universities, including ASU, one of the top-ranked online degree programs in the country. The application process will begin in October 2019 with enrollment for the spring 2020 semester.
“Aramark and its leadership team recognize the tremendous impact of providing their employees an opportunity to advance their education,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO of InStride. “We are thrilled to partner with Aramark and excited to offer their employees the ability to pursue their dreams of a life-changing, debt-free degree from the highest-quality universities.”
Aramark employs 130,000 frontline employees in the U.S. who proudly serve the company’s customers and clients as chefs, cashiers, stadium hawkers, servers, route drivers, custodians and in many others roles in schools and universities, hospitals, sports venues, on delivery routes and in businesses of all kinds.
About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) proudly serves Fortune 500 companies, world champion sports teams, state-of-the-art healthcare providers, the world’s leading educational institutions, iconic destinations and cultural attractions, and numerous municipalities in 19 countries around the world. Our 270,000 team members deliver experiences that enrich and nourish millions of lives every day through innovative services in food, facilities management and uniforms. We work to put our sustainability goals into action by focusing on initiatives that engage our employees, empower healthy living, preserve our planet and build local communities. Aramark is recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, as well as an employer of choice by the Human Rights Campaign and DiversityInc. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
About InStride
InStride is reinventing the education of today’s workforce, working with employers to provide opportunities to degrees and credentials for their employees, through the highest-quality universities and colleges. Founded as a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU), U.S. News and World Report’s most innovative university, and The Rise Fund, a global impact investing fund managed by TPG, InStride is a public-benefit corporation that aims to become the indispensable human capital partner of organizations, helping them unlock the full potential of the university ecosystem and provide meaningful, life-changing impacts for their employees. For more information, please visit www.instride.com, or connect via Twitter @InStrideLearn or LinkedIn.
