Thomas College grows employer partnerships from 2 to nearly 20, in 2 years
File PHOTO / TIM GREENWAY
Johnny’s Selected Seeds employees will get discounted tuition at Thomas College. In this 2016 photo, a product technician waters arugula seeds.
In 2022, Thomas College launched employer partnerships to provide discounts on the cost of degree programs for working adults.
That year, the Waterville college teamed up with two employers, Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and paper manufacturer Sappi North America.
Now nearly 20 businesses and organizations are working this way with the school. The most recent addition is Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
The partnership will extend online professional and graduate courses to Johnny’s 275 employees at a discounted tuition.
The program is expected to help employees advance their careers in sustainable agriculture, said Kurt Webster, human resource director for the company.
“This partnership allows us to combine our expertise with Thomas College's innovative educational programs, equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to advance in their careers,” Webster said.
Johnny's, founded in 1973, is an employee-owned national and international multichannel retailer headquartered in Winslow. The company has a breeding program, variety trials, and seeds, tools, information and services for market farmers and gardeners.
“Our partnership with Johnny’s will not only offer an opportunity for personal and professional development for current Johnny's employees but allow Johnny's to connect with the pipeline of talent that Thomas has to offer,” said Mikaela Ziobro, Thomas College’s senior director of graduate and professional studies.
Other partners, in Maine and beyond, are:
- The Berkeley Institute
- Bermuda High School
- City of Portland
- Hannaford Supermarkets
- JMG
- Kennebec Behavioral Health
- Lee Academy
- Loyalty Transportation Ltd./Executive Transport
- Maine General
- Maine Housing
- Maine Municipal Association
- MEMIC
- Maine Insurance Agents Association
- MMG
- Redington-Fairview General Hospital
- Sappi North America
- Security Associates
- WEX Inc.
The Business and Employer Preferred Educational Partnerships are designed to provide access to a graduate and professional development curriculum that aligns with an organization’s initiatives.
The college says graduate students tend to come into the program already experienced in the work world and are pragmatic about their careers, and are accustomed to meeting tight deadlines and juggling work-life balance issues.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments