Recruitment has started for 25 different apprenticeship schemes ranging from engineering to broadcast production, creative digital design to health, safety and environment technician
Roles include 100 degree-level apprenticeships and more than 500 apprenticeships for Amazon employees, providing an opportunity to retrain and gain new skills
Pay starts at a minimum of £10.80 p/h in the London area and £9.70 p/h in other parts of the UK up to £30,000 a year for degree-level apprenticeships
Amazon created 10,000 new permanent UK jobs in 2020, and now employs more than 40,000 people across the country
Amazon has announced it has started recruiting for over 1,000 full-time apprenticeships in the UK in 2021, covering 25 different programmes ranging from IT, safety technician and HR through to software engineering and creative digital design.
The roles which pay minimum of £10.80 p/h in the London area and £9.70 p/h in other parts of the UK up to £30,000 a year for degree-level apprenticeships include 100 degree-level apprenticeships in automation engineering, project management, software development and chartered management.
Over 500 new apprenticeships will be offered to Amazon’s existing workforce, providing opportunities to retrain and gain new skills leading to an exciting new career path. Apprenticeships exclusively for Amazon employees range from a team leader through to a coaching practitioner.
In addition to being fully-funded, apprentices also receive a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount – which combined are worth more than £700 annually – as well as a company pension plan.
Apprentice programmes last between 14 months and four years and a typical apprenticeship combines theoretical learning with hands-on training, enabling participants to obtain qualifications and degrees and earn money in the process.
Once qualified, apprentices will have the potential to work across Amazon’s UK sites including fulfilment centres, delivery stations, sortation centres and the company’s UK head offices in London and Manchester and the three development centres in Edinburgh, Cambridge and London.
The 1,000 apprenticeships add to Amazon’s continued commitment to creating jobs and opportunities to learn new skills across the UK. Amazon created 10,000 new permanent jobs in the UK in 2020 alone, and employs more than 40,000 people in some of the most advanced workplaces of their kind in the world with competitive pay, processes and systems to ensure the wellbeing and safety of all employees.
Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills Gillian Keegan, said: “It’s fantastic to see Amazon continuing to invest in apprentices. These apprenticeships cover a range of exciting roles from broadcast production to engineering, showcasing the huge variety of opportunities available to young people looking to build a great career.
“I know first-hand the life changing opportunities an apprenticeship can bring. I wish all those who apply the best of luck and thank Amazon for their ongoing commitment to building skills and talent both for today and in the future.”
“We are proud to be creating new opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds across the UK to gain skills through our apprenticeship programmes in 25 different fields, from logistics to robotics,” said, John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon.
“An Amazon apprenticeship offers an exciting career path, creating opportunities within our local communities across the UK and helping our own employees retrain and gain new skills at a time when investing in people and jobs has never been more important.”
Hal Stanfield (25), IT apprentice based in the Networking and Project Management team at the Amazon Development Centre in Edinburgh.
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Hal left school and joined Amazon’s customer service scheme. Through the Amazon Career Choice Programme, Hal was able to develop his burgeoning interest in IT and embarked on a part-time college course in computing with on-the-job training through the IT apprenticeship.
Hal said: “I wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise, and Amazon made it really convenient to re-train myself. It’s been great for my confidence, I’m now so much more skilled and engaged in my role.
“This apprenticeship has been one of the best work decisions I’ve ever made. In my role I get to talk to people in all areas of the business, and that’s something I really enjoy. There’s also a strong community in the apprenticeship programme that has developed through group activities and chats, despite the pandemic.”
The 1,000 new apprentices will join current apprentices already working at Amazon. The current Amazon apprenticeship schemes have attracted recruits from a range of different backgrounds from a former barista, footballer and photographer, to former military veterans and nurses.
Throughout the last year, people have also joined Amazon from construction, customer services, health care, hospitality and sales industries.
Amazon also offers employees Career Choice, an innovative 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 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 £23 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.
Applications are now open for Amazon’s apprenticeship programme. For more information, visit: www.amazonapprenticeships.co.uk