Companies Are Paying To Educate Their Workforce

EAST HARTFORD (AP) –Nils Dahl spends his lunch breaks studying business administration and computer science. His boss lets him leave work early once a week to get to class on time. And he doesn’t pay for tuition, fees or books.

Sound too good to be true?

That’s what Mr Dahl — a 31-year-old design engineer with management ambitions — thought when he first came to work for Pratt & Whitney, the jet engine division of United Technologies Corp., about a year and a half ago.

``At first, I was hesitant to join the program because I worked for a supervisor who had been here 35 years and I’d have to leave early’’ for class, said Mr Dahl. ``I finally told him what I wanted to do, and it was a surprise to me. He thought it was a great idea.’’

UTC is not the only company that pays for its workers to take classes — in fact, a recent survey found that most major US employers provide some type of educational reimbursement. But UTC’s program stands out for its generosity.

Established in 1996, the UTC Employee Scholar Program has spent more than $120 million on tuition, books, and fees. On top of that, it has handed out nearly $50 million in stock bonuses to 6,000-plus workers who’ve earned college degrees while on the job — 200 shares for a bachelor’s degree or higher and 100 shares for an associate’s degree.

``That certainly is probably the best, or one of the best, I’ve heard of,’’ said Mark Moran, vice president of a New Jersey-based third-party benefits administration company. ``The companies I’ve seen give a certain percentage, but nothing that exceptional.’’

At AT&T Corp., full tuition reimbursement is offered to all of its 165,300 workers at a cost of about $20 million annually, said company spokesman Burke Stinson. Participating employees are allowed to leave early for class, but there’s no stock incentive.

People who are motivated enough to complete college courses and earn degrees are often more diligent workers, said Mr Stinson, explaining AT&T’s motivation for offering reimbursements.

``If they do well in school, it’s also part of their personality that they bring to work,’’ he said.

Dell Computer Corp., the largest computer seller in the country, reimburses employees taking courses relating to their current job or those needed to prepare for promotion within the company, said spokeswoman Deborah McNair. An advanced degree program is offered to certain employees with at least five years of service with Dell, which employs about 39,000 people worldwide.

IBM Corp. also offers reimbursement to its 300,000 employees for courses relating to current positions or another job within the company, said spokesman Glen Brandow.

The benefit `` improves the effectiveness of employees or cultivates certain skills that are in demand in the tech field,’’ he said.

UTC had a patchwork of lesser reimbursement plans at its subsidiaries — among them, Carrier Corp., Otis Elevator Co. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. — when it formed the Employee Scholar program to create, in the words of chairman and CEO George David, ``the best-educated workforce on the planet.’’

Lee Dailey, the company’s director of education and development, said participation has risen from 5 percent to nearly 17 percent of UTC’s 74,000 domestic employees, along with another 2,000 workers overseas. The company’s annual worker turnover is less than 10 percent, he said.

Nils Dahl, who holds an engineering master’s degree, is now working toward a double degree: an MBA and a master’s in computer science.

``I have no plans of changing my career path,’’ he said. ``I just want advancement internally in the company and a business degree would help me do that.’’

Mr Dahl, who started working at Pratt & Whitney’s F119 engine division two weeks after his July 1999 wedding, said going back to school as a newlywed was tough, but the stock incentive eases some of the stress.

``With that money, I know I’m going to have a take a portion of it and buy my wife a really great gift,’’ he said.