Britain’s got talent. We’re known around the globe as a nation of builders, innovators and inventors, behind many great technological advances that shape the modern world.
Like Britain itself, Amazon is made up of builders, innovators and inventors. Wherever you are in the country, our people endeavour to expand consumer choice and convenience and help tens of thousands of small businesses across the country grow their revenue and reach hundreds of millions of customers around the world by selling on Amazon.
We’ve been in Britain over 20 years, investing £9.3bn since 2010. It’s a great place to do business and we’re in for the long haul. In fact, we created 2,500 new permanent roles last year, taking our UK workforce to 27,500.
But we know there’s a major STEM skills shortage in the UK. Research from STEM Learning has shown that science, tech, engineering and maths roles are expected to double in 10 years, but there’s a shortfall of 173,000 skilled workers and 89% of businesses are struggling to recruit for STEM roles.
So by creating new career pathways and working with industry partners, we want to open up new opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
That’s why we’re delighted to announce a new fully-funded apprenticeship program, giving 1,000 new recruits and existing employees an exciting path to becoming Amazon’s future leaders, engineers and innovators. Apprentices will work right across the UK in our corporate and operations sites, from fulfilment centres through to our corporate offices and research and development centres. With salaries starting from £9.50/£10.50 an hour in our entry level operations roles, £23,900 a year for our engineering apprentices and up to £30,000 a year for our software degree apprentices – you earn while you learn.
We want to give people opportunities to succeed in the digital age, regardless of their start in life. It’s never too late to retrain as an apprentice, there are always opportunities to prepare for the future world of work.
As a fast growing company, we haven’t always got it right, and have had to learn as we go - but we’re listening, learning and we’re working hard to provide a great place for people to work. That’s why just last year, we increased our minimum wage to £10.50 for the London area and £9.50 for the rest of the UK for all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees.
We want to play our part in creating the next generation of builders, innovators and inventors to make Britain the envy of the world.
Doug Gurr, UK Country Manager, Amazon
