Walmart is expanding paid, debt-free training routes that move frontline associates into higher-paid roles as drivers, technicians and licensed opticians. Its flagship Associate to Driver program, launched in 2022, pays eligible employees while they earn a commercial driver’s license and transition into Walmart’s fleet. More than 1,000 employees have entered driving roles, with first-year drivers earning up to $115,000 annually and more experienced drivers earning up to $135,000, according to the company. The program comes as young Americans reassess college amid rising costs and labor-market uncertainty. The average total cost of a four-year degree is $108,584, while only one in four adults without a college degree believe affordable, quality education is accessible, according to cited reports. Walmart says the model responds both to employee demand for job-linked training and to shortages in fields such as trucking, where the American Trucking Associations estimated an 80,000-driver shortfall in 2021. The retailer has since added technician and optician pathways, reinforcing a model in which training is tied to positions Walmart expects to need.