Fidelity Investments Inc. launched a new program that will pay full tuition for two- and four-year undergraduate degrees for the company's entry-level U.S. customer service phone representatives.
Fidelity also covers books, fees and taxes and offers free coaching to interested employees with help selecting a college and a major from more than 30 approved institutions as well as tactics for managing work and home life, said Megan Bourque, Fidelity's Boston-based head of benefits, in an interview.
The degree program, launched in late October, focuses on a range of college majors that align with Fidelity's business and the financial industry, a Fidelity news release said.
About 18,000 employees of the Boston-based investment company are eligible for the free-tuition program, Ms. Bourque said.
Fidelity increased its customer-service headcount by 127% over the past three years and continues to recruit more employees to work throughout the firm, she said.
For that reason, Ms. Bourque said the tuition-free program was designed to attract new talent to Fidelity's customer service team.
Fidelity's existing employees responded very enthusiastically when the tuition program was announced internally, she said, noting that "hundreds of positive comments popped up on Fidelity's internal websites."
Fidelity had assets under administration totaling $10.3 trillion as of Aug. 31, including $3.8 trillion of assets under management with discretion, according to the Fidelity release.
The company has about 28,000 client-serving employees total.
