JLL Launches Student Loan Repayment Program for New Analyst Hires – Commercial Observer

Some new hires at JLL may be able to cancel some of their student loan payments to their employer.

JLL launched a student loan repayment program Thursday that provides new analysts and employees with $ 5,000 each year to repay student loans, with a cap of $ 15,000.

The program is designed to help the company break down financial barriers for workers entering the capital markets sector, particularly heterogeneous and female workers who tend to be more student debts.

“Since studies show that women and people of color have a disproportionately high proportion of student loans, this means that the industry is losing to a huge talent pool.” Chris Drew, Co-head of JLL’s Miami capital markets office, said in a statement. “We aim to reach diverse graduates by removing these financial barriers and inequalities to entry and making sure they view transactional roles as a viable career option.”

The program is open to all new employees of the capital market group who joined JLL after January 1st. To be eligible, employees must have worked for JLL for at least three months and earn less than $ 150,000 per year. Anyone can join regardless of their background, although Drew hopes the program would address the higher credit debt for women and minority workers.

The average student loan debt for college graduates was $ 30,000 in 2019, according to US news and world report. But black students borrow far higher rates than white students and women borrow around 7 percentage points more than male students, they say National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Historical Exclusion of opportunities for asset accumulation – like housing, banking, and education – all helped create a racial wealth gap that is forcing black students and minorities to borrow more, they say Institute for Wealth and Social Policy at Brandeis University.

Black undergraduate students from 2015 to 2016 borrowed just under $ 10,000 more on average than recipients of a white degree, according to NCES. Those pursuing a college degree also borrow more.

Students who are aiming for a master’s degree in business administration can join $ 40,000 to $ 100,000 in debt – and according to a 2019 trend, the numbers for the top programs in the US tend to be higher Wall Street Journal analysis.

JLL’s program is designed to address these debts. Drew, chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee within the Capital Markets Group at JLL, said the project has been in the works since 2019 as the brokerage aims to increase diversity among its ranks.

“We all felt we had a consolidated committee of individuals to work on [diversity, equity and inclusion] would be an advantage, ”Drew told Commercial Observer. “We really just put our heads together thinking this is something we really want to focus on.”

However, there are other barriers to entry in the commercial real estate industry, including the commission-based wage model for sellers and a lack of understanding of what the industry is all about, Drew added.

To counter the low base salaries for commission jobs, JLL invested $ 4 million to fund entry-level salaries and female salespeople to complement commission wages. The investment will pay a higher base salary for entry-level sales professionals in the areas of capital markets, agency leasing and tenant representation in the JLL business. Employees who use the program also receive additional training and a mentor.

JLL, that has in partnership with historically black colleges and universities, too works with Project determined – a program that offers a variety of students training in commercial real estate – and has donated $ 150,000 to expand the project’s previous program. Project determined recently expanded in Miami with a scholarship program for two students to do an MBA at the University of Miami Herbert School of Business Miami, CO reports.

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