Amazon to invest £23m in skills training for UK employees

Amazon has announced that it is investing £23m in skills training for employees across the UK. The announcement comes as a new study by the retailer found that 61% of UK workers believe that on-the-job skills training or apprenticeships are more valuable for preparing people for work than traditional university degrees. The study, which comes as students complete their GCSE and A-Level exams, found that less than a third (31%) of workers believe that a traditional university degree is as essential for a good career as it was 10 years ago. The Amazon Future of Work and Career Development European study also found that a majority of UK employees (79%) think it’s important to learn a new skill to improve their career path in the next 12 months, even more so than receiving a promotion (67%). Amazon has invested more than £55m in training programmes in the UK since it launched its Career Choice programme in 2014. The programme provides 95% of prepaid tuition, up to £8,000 over four years, for nationally recognised courses from more than 20 training providers throughout the UK. The programme offers various training opportunities in a range of popular, in-demand job fields, from tech and sustainability to business administration and logistics. Currently, Amazon UK employees have access to more than 20 different programmes to help them maximise their potential within the company or outside of Amazon. Some of the new courses added in the UK throughout 2024 include information security analyst, software tester and a supply chain specialist. Amazon currently has more than 75,000 employees, and more than 18,500 of its UK employees have participated in Career Choice since the programme launched. John Boumphrey, Amazon UK country manager, said: “The research reflects what we’re seeing in our workplace, and that is people in the UK want access to skills training programmes. “Amazon is proud to have offered our upskilling Career Choice programme in the UK for the past 10 years and now to further expand on our course options, so that thousands of employees across the UK can continue to advance their skills and take on new career opportunities at Amazon and beyond.”