EY, a global consultancy, is offering its 3,12,000 global staff the opportunity to earn a Master’s degree in sustainability, reports Business Insider.
“We have learned over time that purpose is really important to attract people to the organisation,” Trent Henry, EY’s global vice chair of talent.
A global survey of EY workers found that 74% of them want to engage in activities that have a positive impact on the community and the environment.
EY designed the curriculum in partnership with Hult Business School to help employees develop skills in their daily tasks as well as focus on climate change, sustainable finance and impact entrepreneurs.
It is open to all EY employees, regardless of their seniority in the company, and is designed to provide virtual delivery. If they want to finish everything at once, it will take about 18 months. However, staff members can be ‘flexible’ in their own time.
This is the third programme that EY, which spends $500 million a year on learning, is announcing with Hult. In 2020, the company unveiled the fully accredited Master of Business Administration (MBA) and in 2021 the Master in Business Analytics. The company also offers a separate Tech MBA with Hult.
According to the recruitment platform HireVue, which surveyed 1,600 companies in the UK, 45% of companies said they would invest in learning and development to help improve employee retention.