Walgreens announces new veterans initiative
Walgreens and Southern New Hampshire University announced a new initiative that aims to provide career and educational opportunities for 5,000 U.S. veterans over the next five years.
Through the program, Walgreens will seek to hire veterans into store leadership roles with opportunities to advance, and through a collaboration with SNHU, participating veterans will also have the ability to pursue a bachelor or master's degree from the University.
The program, Walgreens Helping Veterans with Educational and Retail Opportunities, or HERO, seeks to offer more job and career prospects for the nation's veterans through Walgreens more than 9,500 stores nationwide. It will also help veterans achieve their educational goals, while advancing their careers in the civilian world.
"Our stores are the front lines of engagement with our customers and offer the best environment to learn our business as a pharmacy and retailer. Once in a store leadership role, veterans can have an opportunity to advance into other field management and corporate leadership positions," said Jeff Koziel, Walgreens senior vice president of operations. "In addition to full-time employment, this can lead to a successful and fulfilling career supporting Walgreens purpose to champion the health and well-being of every community in America."
Veterans will be hired into store leadership roles as shift leads or assistant managers, with the goal of becoming a Walgreens store manager. New hires will participate in a program to develop leadership and decision-making skills necessary to manage a store, where responsibilities include delivering outstanding customer care, managing a staff of more than 20 team members, and oversight of store sales and merchandising.
While working, HERO program participants will also have the opportunity to earn a bachelor's or master's degree from Southern New Hampshire University at a significant discount. The tuition discount will be applied on top of any additional federal student aid benefits.
SNHU, the largest nonprofit university in the nation, has had a long-standing commitment to supporting U.S. service members, which dates back to World War II. Today, the University serves more than 17,000 military-affiliated learners, and has a dedicated team of academic advisers from every branch of the armed services to support service members on their path to a degree.
"At SNHU, we understand the unique needs of veterans as they work toward a college degree and transition into civilian life," said Paul LeBlanc, University President and CEO, SNHU. "We are proud to be working with Walgreens to provide veterans with more than just a job. Through this new initiative, veterans will be able to tap into their military experience to lead teams at Walgreens, develop workforce-relevant skills through higher education, and put themselves on a path to a meaningful career post-military."