The team at the Amazon delivery station in Bathgate is celebrating Armed Forces Day (25th June) by shining a light on some of the veterans and reservists working across Amazon’s UK operations network.
One of the veterans currently working at Amazon in Bathgate is Daniel Da Silva, who joined the company in 2020.
The Amazon Military Programme offers members of the military community the opportunity to pursue a wide range of exciting new career paths at Amazon.
This year Amazon will recruit (or has recruited) over 300 veterans, reservists and military spouses across the business in over 35 different jobs ranging from health & safety specialists, engineers, sales managers and team leaders to senior managers. These new employees join over 2,500 already employed at Amazon since it commenced its military programme in 2011.
Amazon has been awarded the Employer of the Year Award at the Ex-Forces in Business Awards for two years in succession for its outstanding efforts in supporting ex-services personnel and military spouses. The Ex-Forces in Business Awards is the world’s largest celebration of military veterans in second careers.
The awards are dedicated to providing a much-needed platform for uncovering and showcasing the business achievements of ex-military, recognising the value veterans add to businesses as well as the employers that support the transition of servicemen and women.
Amazon’s military onboarding plan dedicated mentoring platform and thriving employee resource group ‘Warriors at Amazon’ continue to ensure our ex-forces have the best possible start to their second careers in Industry.
Amazon is also a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. The Covenant, originally introduced in 2011, has a focus on helping the Armed Forces community to access the same support from government and commercial services as the public.
Amazon first signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2013 and renewed its commitment in 2021, vowing to uphold its key principles and to demonstrate its commitment to serving personnel, reservists, veterans and families.
Daniel Da Silva joined Amazon two years ago and is currently working as a Health and Safety Coordinator based at the Bathgate delivery station.
Before joining Amazon, Daniel decided at age 17 to join the marines in Portugal. Due to an injury after 12 months of training, Daniel was told he couldn’t finish the last three weeks of his course. After recovering from his injury, Daniel started the same training once again and after 12 months, he received his well-deserved blue beret.
“At some point in life we all fall, but it is down to us to stand up and use that bad moment as a fuel for something greater,” he said.
As lockdown struck, Daniel found it very hard to stay at home. His brother was working at Amazon, so he decided to apply for a temporary part-time job but decided to stay on with Amazon after lockdown restrictions lifted.
“I started to enjoy the diversity of roles here and opportunities and when it came to the time to go back to my previous job, I decided to stay at Amazon,” Daniel said.
“For six years of my life, I had done a lot of leadership training and learned a lot during that period. I can now use those experiences to put what I learned into practice at Amazon. It’s something that comes naturally to me now.
“Amazon is a great company to work for and a brilliant place to develop skills. You can go up the levels if you have the passion and commitment to do so.” Daniel added. “Comparing the opportunities that we have at Amazon to the military, it’s a much safer environment and you can spend more time with family, which are two big bonuses for me.”
Clare Cornbleet, Senior Delivery Station Manager at Amazon in Bathgate said: “The Amazon Military Programme has been a fantastic success and Daniel is one of the many brilliant veterans and reservists working in Amazon buildings here in Bathgate and around the UK.
“The skills learned in the military are highly transferable to a role at Amazon and we’re pleased to continue offering employment, training and development opportunities to former servicemen and women through our programme.”
Gillian Russell, Principle Programme Manager, Global Military Affairs and retired Royal Navy Officer at Amazon, added: “The military community brings huge value to the workforce and we have a dedicated team focused on bringing that talent into Amazon.
“We offer opportunities across the whole business and we train, develop and support veterans, military spouses and Reserves to flourish and thrive here. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to lean new skills and build their career at Amazon.”
Launched in 2021 the Amazon Corporate Military Internship Program is one such opportunity. It offers a direct path into corporate roles in e-commerce for those transitioning from the Armed Forces.
Those on the programme are supported throughout their transition to the corporate world, including a military mentor who already works at Amazon, tailored support from line management and an on boarding buddy.
To find out more about beginning a career with Amazon, visit Amazon Jobs
Amazon provides competitive pay, comprehensive benefits and a modern, safe and engaging work environment for its employees. The roles pay a minimum of £10.00 or £11.10 per hour depending on location, and Amazon employees can also take advantage of Amazon’s pioneering Career Choice programme, which pre-pays 95% of tuition for courses in high-demand fields, up to £8,000 over four years, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.
Amazon also provides opportunities to improve existing skills or learn new ones through internal career progression opportunities such as cross-training, transferring to a different department and promotion into a managerial role.
Amazon has invested over £32 billion in the UK since 2010 to provide convenience, selection and value to UK consumers, while supporting tens of thousands of businesses and creative professionals including small businesses selling on Amazon’s online stores, Amazon Web Services developers and Kindle Direct Publishing authors.
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