Bread, milk, a new appliance, a new outfit — and tips on how to interview and rework your résumé. All in one place?
Companies say they always are looking for ways to help their communities. Walmart announced last week it will aim to do so with free training on a variety of topics in a program called Walmart Community Academy.
As part of an outreach to the community in a time of need, Walmart announced it is making its Walmart Academies — a nationwide network of 200 instructional environments the company started for its own employees in 2016 — available to any member of the community, regardless of whether they are employed by the company.
Class topics include everything from résumé building and interviewing skills to budget and finance, standardized test preparation and navigating college admissions.
Each of the courses are grouped into one of five overall themes — community, personal finance, home, career progression and technology.
Three New Jersey Walmart Supercenters, located in North Bergen, Old Bridge and Williamstown, will be part of the nationwide program. (Register here.)
Andy Trainor, the company’s vice president of learning, said the company realized it could fill a need — and wanted to do so.
“Community Academy began with a question: How can we help?” he said. “With so many communities struggling economically, and education sometimes out of reach, we recognized a need that we’re uniquely suited to fill.
“Our goal is to help people invest in themselves, increase upward mobility and create fundamentally stronger communities as a result.”
Trainor said the company is all-in on the program.
“In developing our Community Academy curriculum, we leveraged Walmart’s own subject matter experts and worked with industry leaders to ensure our content is best-in-class,” he said. “All Community courses will be taught by our Walmart Academy facilitators, true learning professionals who have guided our store associates through more than 2 million Academy training sessions on topics ranging from store processes to leadership and soft skills.”
Trainor said the opportunities are another example of how the company gives back in New Jersey, where it employs more than 22,000 — and will spend more than $9 billion with New Jersey suppliers.
It’s all part of giving back, Trainor said.
“At Walmart, we believe in opportunity — to grow your skillset, build a career and reach for something more,” he said. “Community Academy represents our belief in that opportunity, and we’re proud to begin serving our communities in this new way.”
