After a week of major layoff announcements from Amazon, UPS, Pinterest, and Nike, at least some American workers got some welcome news on Thursday: Walmart is promoting 3,000 of its pharmacy workers across nearly 4,600 U.S. locations, and some will have much higher earning potential.
The world’s largest retailer and top Fortune 500 company has promoted these workers to pharmacy operations team lead positions that pay an average of $28 per hour, with the potential to earn up to $42 per hour. Pharmacy technicians now make an average of $22 per hour, and can earn up to $40.50 per hour.
What’s also encouraging in an era in which younger generations are starting to question the return-on-investment for higher education is that these jobs don’t require a college degree. Walmart fully funds the certifications, with more than 22,000 associates having been trained since 2016.
Lisa Simon, chief economist at workforce intelligence company Revelio Labs, told Fortune this is a smart financial move on Walmart’s part, considering it’s become increasingly expensive and time-consuming to hire credentialed pharmacy staff.
“Promoting from within allows Walmart to control labor costs while retaining workers who already have institutional knowledge of store operations and customers,” Simon said. “Paying for certification is often cheaper than competing for outside hires.”
