Amazon to hire 1,000 UK apprentices as revenue surges
Amazon will hire 1,000 apprentices across the UK this year as the ecommerce giant continues its rapid expansion amid a pandemic-driven trading boom.
The US tech firm said the roles will cover more than two dozen different programmes ranging from engineering, safety technicians and broadcast production to IT and HR.
The plan includes 100 degree-level apprenticeships and more than 500 spots for Amazon’s existing workforce, allowing current employees to retrain in new skills.
Once qualified, apprentices will be able to work across Amazon’s UK sites including warehouses, its head offices in London and Manchester and three development centres in London, Edinburgh and Cambridge.
The expansion comes after a bumper year for Amazon, which has cashed in on increased demand for online shopping and cloud computing during the pandemic.
The firm’s UK revenue jumped more than 50 per cent to hit £20bn in 2020. This made the UK its fastest growing region.
The company hired 10,000 new workers in the UK last year, taking its total headcount in the country to more than 40,000.
“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, Amazon’s UK country manager.
“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.”
The apprenticeships will pay a minimum of £10.80 per hour in London and £9.70 per hour in other parts of the UK, up to £30,000 a year.