Walmart To The Rescue Again

Walmart, the largest US food retailer has done a lot for our industry.

The retailer has taught every supermarket about operational efficiencies, has helped farmers become profitable and led the way in many cutting edge programs. Here’s another example.  Walmart announced on June 14th it will aim to help their customers with free training on a variety of topics in a program called Walmart Community Academy. We have celebrated this program before – and they deserve it. Walmart Academies is a nationwide network of 200 instructional environments the company started for its own employees in 2016 — available to any member of the community, regardless of whether they are employed by the company. Class topics include everything from résumé building and interviewing skills to budget and finance, standardized test preparation and navigating college admissions. Each of the courses are grouped into one of five overall themes — community, personal finance, home, career progression and technology. Andy Trainor, the company’s vice president of learning, said the company realized it could fill a need — and wanted to do so.

“Community Academy began with a question: How can we help?” he said. “With so many communities struggling economically, and education sometimes out of reach, we recognized a need that we’re uniquely suited to fill. “Our goal is to help people invest in themselves, increase upward mobility and create fundamentally stronger communities as a result.”

Trainor said the company is all-in on the program. All Community courses will be taught by our Walmart Academy facilitators, who have guided their store associates through more than 2 million Academy training sessions on topics ranging from store processes to leadership and soft skills. “At Walmart, we believe in opportunity — to grow your skillset, build a career and reach for something more,” he said. “Community Academy represents our belief in that opportunity, and we’re proud to begin serving our communities in this new way.” And Walmart, once again, we are proud of you. Thank you.