5 minBusiness
Walmart Expands Debt-Free Training Pathways as Gen Z Weighs College Costs
Walmart is building paid, debt-free training programs that move frontline associates into higher-paying roles as truck drivers, technicians, and opticians, offering an alternative to a four-year degree as college costs climb.
Walmart is betting that for many young workers, the road to a six-figure salary runs through its stores rather than a college campus. The retailer is expanding paid, debt-free training pathways that move frontline associates into higher-paying jobs as truck drivers, skilled technicians, and licensed opticians, while also addressing labor shortages in fields where it needs workers.
The flagship Associate to Driver program, launched in 2022, pays eligible employees while they earn a commercial driver’s license and transition into Walmart’s private fleet. More than 1,000 associates have moved into driving roles through the program. First-year drivers can earn up to $115,000 annually, and more experienced drivers can make up to $135,000, according to the company. Drivers earn an average of about $109,000.
The program reflects a broader shift in how some young people are weighing their options after high school. Rising college costs and uncertainty about the job market have prompted many Gen Z students to reconsider the traditional four-year path. The average total cost of a four-year degree is $108,584, according to a report by the Education Data Initiative.
Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, told Fortune that the days of education for education’s sake are gone. «It’s just not affordable,» she said. Mayotte said students should weigh a degree’s price against their likely earnings after graduation. «If the return on investment isn’t there, then you need to find another path to get that degree to work in that profession,» she said.
For many, the question is not simply whether college is worth the cost, but whether an affordable path to a quality education is available at all. Only one in four adults without a college degree believe people can access an affordable, quality education, according to a Gallup and Lumina Foundation report. That skepticism has coincided with growing interest in skilled trades.
Walmart’s program grew out of several pressures. In 2021, the American Trucking Associations estimated the trucking industry faced a shortage of 80,000 drivers, an all-time high at the time. Walmart was also hearing from employees who wanted more from its education program, Live Better U. During listening sessions, associates said they wanted a clearer connection between training and better jobs at the company.
Walmart Chief Talent Officer Lorraine Stomski told Fortune that workers wanted training tied directly to jobs Walmart needed to fill. Combined with an upcoming wave of driver retirements, that feedback sparked the initial pitch: «Why don’t we just build our own program and train them?»
To apply, associates must have worked at Walmart for at least a year and obtain a commercial learner’s permit before entering the program. Walmart also gives applicants a «day in the life» preview that walks through the schedule, time away from home, and demands of a professional driving role.
«While the rewards of this career path are great and it’s an economic mobility platform for our associates, at the same time, a driving job is an intense job, and it’s not made for everyone,» Ryan McDaniels, Walmart’s senior vice president of transportation, told Fortune.
The program lasts 16 weeks. Associates spend the first eight weeks in training, then another eight weeks moving freight through Walmart’s network alongside a dedicated trainer. Since its launch, more than 1,000 associates have graduated into driving roles. The fleet now has more than 17,000 drivers, and Walmart has expanded from holding classes once every three months to bringing in a new class every month.
Giovani Diorio, who graduated from the program in February 2025, comes from a family of drivers. His father, brother, and uncle are all professional drivers. He once planned to attend college, but uncertainty about what to study and the potential cost turned him away from that path. «I didn’t want to waste my time,» he said. «It’s very costly to go to college, especially if you go and then you don’t use the schooling that you went for.»
Diorio said Walmart covering the training and continuing to pay him while he learned made the program especially appealing. «It just opened up a lot of financial possibilities where I could save money, put money away, and just better set myself up for the future,» he said.
The program’s success has inspired two more career pathways at Walmart, including Associate to Optician, extending the model beyond driving into other skilled roles the company needs to fill.
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