Business Partners
Founded in 1907 as a messenger company in the United States, UPS
has grown into a $36 billion corporation by clearly focusing on the goal of
enabling commerce around the globe. Today UPS is a global company with one of
the most recognized and admired brands in the world. UPS has become the world’s
largest package delivery company and a leading global provider of specialized
transportation and logistics services. Every day, UPS manages the flow of goods,
funds, and information in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
UPS was planning to expand its Louisville, KY hub in 1997, but needed part-time
employees to meet peak labor demands. State and local government and educational
officials knew that UPS would have to build Hub 2000 elsewhere if it could not
find enough recruits in Louisville. Metropolitan College, the first program of
its kind in the nation, was founded to address and solve this workforce dilemma
in Louisville. The Metropolitan College Program was chartered and funded by the
state of Kentucky in 1998, and established a partnership with UPS and three
Louisville colleges: the University of Louisville, Jefferson Community College
and Jefferson Technical College (since that time the latter two schools merged
to become Jefferson Community and Technical College). UPS’ role was to
provide part-time jobs, pay half the tuition, and reimburse a portion of the
cost of textbooks for participants who successfully complete their coursework
at either participating institution. Metropolitan College, using funding from
the state and local governments, pays the other half of the tuition and provides
a wide array of student development services to support participant success.
School to Work
Students in the program attend classes at their high school in the morning, work
at UPS as package handlers from approximately 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and take a
Jefferson Community and Technical College course twice a week in the UPS
classroom. All students are required to have a minimum grade point average
of 2.5, good attendance, and a recommendation from their school counselor
before entering the program. As UPS employees, the students receive a benefits
package that includes health coverage, a 401K plan, vacation pay, and a starting
salary of $8.50 an hour.
The School to Work program is a natural feeder program for Metropolitan College,
a program created to help recruit and retain additional workers needed to support
the UPS hub expansion in Louisville. As students graduate from the School to Work
program they are encouraged to pursue a college career via a seamless transition
into the Metropolitan College program.
Earn & Learn
In addition to School To Work and its partnership with Metropolitan College, UPS
also provides tuition assistance through its Earn & Learn program. Earn &
Learn educational benefits are available in more than 30 cities across the nation.
Locally, UPS student employees may use these tuition benefits at nearly all of
the colleges, technical schools and universities in the Kentuckiana region.
Metropolitan College began its partnership with Community Alternatives Kentucky, generally
referred to as CAKY, in the fall of 2005. CAKY is a subsidiary of ResCare and provides
direct care to persons with developmental and physical disabilities. This partnership
grew out of a U.S. Department of Labor initiative involving the American Network of
Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) and partnership pilots with four states: Arizona,
Maine, New York, and Kentucky. One of the objectives of the Kentucky pilot was to
assist employers like CAKY to identify employees, both new and incumbent, who were
interested in pursuing post-secondary education and to help those individuals navigate
the educational and career development process. ResCare and CAKY recognized Metropolitan
College’s proven success with UPS and determined that they would like to pilot a similar
education/workforce development partnership. The Metropolitan College/CAKY partnership
is focused on developing recruitment and retention strategies that capitalize on educational
opportunities and career paths for CAKY employees and to provide tuition support to increase
the educational attainment levels of their employees.
Humana was founded in 1961 on the single premise of patient care. What started as a
single nursing home grew to over 100 hospitals before evolving into the health benefits
company it is today. Over the years, the founding premise has grown into the current
company vision – to become the most trusted name in health solutions.
Humana has more than 21,000 associates committed to providing innovative healthcare
solutions to consumers and customers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In addition to traditional
and government-sponsored products, Humana is breaking new ground in the industry with
leading-edge consumer-choice products. Humana’s bold approach to consumerism is
changing the face of healthcare as we know it.
Through the partnership with Metropolitan College, Humana associates working in a Humana Higher
Education Program role, as defined by Humana, may attend either Jefferson Community &
Technical College or the University of Louisville. Participants must pass their coursework
with a “C”
or better and meet the semester-by-semester work commitment. In addition, participants will
receive student and career development services through Metropolitan College and assistance
in choosing a career path to continue their growth and development within Humana.