Walmart has announced the opening of a new training facility in Decatur, Georgia, designed to help in-store employees transition into higher-paying technical positions. The company is partnering with Tulsa Welding School to host the Associate to Technician program at its campus located at 1287 Columbia Drive. This initiative allows current associates to learn essential skills for specialized roles without incurring educational costs.
The program builds on similar efforts previously established in Florida, Texas, and Indiana. According to the company, the curriculum has already helped more than 600 workers move into skilled trades. Walmart stated that this effort supports a national objective to develop 4,000 technicians by the year 2030.
The training covers hands-on instruction in Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, troubleshooting, and tool use. Participants also receive foundational education in plumbing, electrical work, automation, and heating and cooling systems.
In conjunction with the training expansion, Walmart is increasing pay rates for store facility maintenance associates. The hourly wage range for general maintenance technicians is rising from $19 to $35 to $26 to $51. This adjustment represents an increase of approximately 40 percent.
The company noted that these changes align with broader labor market trends, citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections that estimate roughly 608,000 annual openings in installation, maintenance, and repair fields over the next decade.
This launch is part of a wider expansion of Walmart’s Career Pathways program, which now includes an Associate to Optician track in three states. The initiatives aim to address labor shortages in skilled trades by providing earn-and-learn models that allow workers to gain new qualifications while remaining employed. Walmart emphasized that the training is provided at no cost to participating associates.
