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from the driving-your-education-forward dept.
Lyft will offer its drivers access to tuition discounts and financial aid, starting with online courses offered by Guild Education:
Lyft is unveiling a new education program for drivers, offering access to discounted GED and college courses online. The move is an interesting experiment in the gig economy, where a growing class of workers receive zero benefits from a boss and yet competition for their time is fierce.
[...] Lyft drivers will receive tuition discounts ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent and, according to the company, the average driver working with Guild to earn a degree can save up to $4,220 per year. Drivers can take English as a second language and GED courses, as well as earn an associates, bachelor's or master's degree online in subjects including IT, nursing, social work, occupational therapy and business.
Lyft would not disclose how much the program will cost the company. According to a Lyft survey of drivers to be published next month, 47 percent do not have a college degree. Gabe Cohen, general manager for Lyft in Denver, says internal surveys show that drivers want to earn degrees. This move serves that goal, as well as the startup's business interests. "It is important that drivers feel loyalty to Lyft," Cohen says.
[...] David Weil, dean at Brandeis University's Heller School of Social Policy and Management, is not impressed. Weil, who was in charge of investigating companies that misclassify workers under the Obama administration, describes the move by Lyft as strategic, but not generous. Lyft and Uber are fighting in courts against claims that drivers are employees entitled to benefits like paid sick leave and health care. "The ride-hailing companies can't erase the fact that their business models are having drivers do all sorts of things an employee would do," Weil says. To offer training is "really nice" but it doesn't mean Lyft should "be rewarded by having the other responsibilities removed," he says.
From Lyft's blog post:
Dallas driver Muhammed Chan learned by speaking with passengers from all walks of life that "there is serious demand for cyber security experts in my city." As part of our pilot program earlier this year, Muhammed received support to access financial aid and scholarships through Guild, and began a cybersecurity program earlier this month.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 13 2017, @12:07AM
A Network Penetrator is a real job too. Companies hire those security professionals to attack their security systems to find holes. His joke was not sexists, not racist, and not classist. More men work in IT security and more women work in the sexual entertainment industry. Using truths to tell a joke isn't sexist. Nothing was about race or class either.
You're the one attacking pole dancers by saying it's immoral to use their services, but so long as no one looks at them it's ok to pay them to do stuff. You are free to follow your own morals whether something is illegal or not. If prostitution was legalized, such an act wouldn't compel you to participate in it. You'd be free to follow your morals and not engage in such services. The immorality would be you voting against it to deny others their choices because it's something you'd personally choose not to do. Restricting someone else's choice to engage in an activity which harms no one is the immoral act. So if such a vote ever came up, you should vote to allow it and then choose not to visit any such businesses.
Or better yet, understand that marriage for love has only existed for less than 250 years. Before that people married the person who would increase their changes of survival the most (most resources, best skills, supportive family). You can have sex as a fun, playful act without a deep emotional connection. Don't confuse love and sex and prostitution will looks far less immoral. Or are you against all fun activities? Everything from tasty food, video games, and getting a note of accomplishment from your boss are ways to activate the pleasure centers in your brain. Why do you consider the more direct physical methods to be so much different? Social media bullshitting for upvotes is far more damaging than consensual, protected sex. Poor sex education from adult who are afraid of the topic is even worse. Close to 50% of males are still sexually assaulted in USA in an effort to 'help' them.