Walmart announced on Tuesday that the big box retail giant would be covering college tuition and book costs to part-time and full-time employees. The educational program will be available to roughly 1.5 million workers.

The company feels that this is a step in the right direction after experiencing staff shortages and high turnovers. Consumer demand is especially high now that the US is reopening from the national shutdown.

Walmart has been criticized for some time now for failing to pay their employees as much as their competitors, such as Target, Amazon, and Kroger. Thousands of their employees are below the poverty line and need fair wages and benefits.

Back in February, Walmart raised their overall wage in the US to $15.25 an hour. In March, the retail giant announced that they would be raising their wages for employees on the East Coast and West Coast due to them having a higher cost of living, and the competition of hiring workers between other retailers are much more crucial.

“Nearly 28,000 employees have been active in Walmart’s educational programs this summer alone, and 8,000 have graduated since it began in 2018 to offer college degrees, skills training, and other certificate programs,” the company said.

The retailer adds more areas of interest to their programs that coincide with employee growth, including business administration, supply chain, and cybersecurity.