Training, development and ideas for improvement are foundational experiences of working in our fulfillment centers. For some, roles in Amazon’s fulfillment network can be a way to earn money in the short-term, but for others, they can be the starting point to a career. At Amazon, there are countless opportunities to develop skills, advance in your current career or get training through our Career Skills and Career Choice programs for an in-demand field of your choice, regardless of whether the skills relate to a job back at Amazon. From dedicated associates who fulfill customer orders, leaders who support teams and skilled technicians who ensure operations run smoothly, more than 125,000 associates across our North America fulfillment network believe they have found the right place.
Career Choice
Career Choice is available to Amazon hourly associates who have been employed for one continuous year. With this program, the company pre-pays 95% of tuition and fees for associates to earn certificates and associate degrees in high-demand occupations such as aircraft mechanics, computer-aided design, machine tool technologies, medical laboratory science, dental hygiene, solar technician and nursing, to name a few.
We exclusively fund education only in areas that are in high demand according to sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and we fund those areas regardless of whether those skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.
More than 16,000 associates have participated in Career Choice across 10 countries – U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic – and we’re expanding the program to South Africa, Costa Rica and Slovakia.
Because of the great interest in Career Choice, we've built 39 onsite classrooms so college and technical classes can be taught inside our fulfillment centers, making associates' participation in Career Choice even more seamless by reducing the need to commute for skill-building classes.
This program is peculiar (just like we are). In fact, it's safe to say you won't find anything quite like it anywhere else. See what Career Choice graduates like Jamie Davis say about their experience and how it’s changed their lives for the better.
Career Skills
For many years, Amazon has been focused on creating new jobs, but now we’re investing more in training our current employees and associates on the career and life skills they need to be successful. Career Skills is a free, on-site training and development program available to all hourly Amazon employees beginning on day one. The program offers classes on a variety of skills such as resume building, interviewing skills, effective speaking, time management, Microsoft excel and more. Employee development is important to us, and we offer educational programs for our multi-national workforce to grow.
Amazon recognizes the shifting industry and understands that in today’s world, it is not enough to focus solely on hiring efforts -- we believe it is also our responsibility as a global corporation to upskill and train associates with the living skills needed to move into more rewarding roles that offer higher pay. We define living skills as the type of skills that allow our associates to stay nimble in a constantly changing environment and understand basic technical skills needed to assess problems. These skills not only prepare associates for the types of jobs Amazon provides but also lead to long-term careers –
at Amazon or elsewhere – that pay a good salary.
Did you know that many of our managers started out in hourly roles? Just within 2017, we promoted 10 percent (or 1,250) of our US tier 1 associates into tier 3—or process assistant—roles. We have multiple employee training programs including re-training opportunities, apprenticeships, career skills training, leader orientation, software developer training for women, Pathways Operations Leadership Development program to develop high-potential graduates, a relaunch program for women who had previously left the workforce to care for their families, veteran apprenticeships, military leader program, a military pathways program focused on high-potential leaders, fellowships, and mentorships.
A2Tech
The Associate to Tech (A2Tech) program is a training opportunity for fulfillment associates with interest in IT support. Associates can apply to open IT Support Technician roles in fulfillment centers and if selected, be hired as a temporary technician for 90 days spending 6 hours of the work day getting hands-on experience and 2 hours studying for the CompTIA A+ certification exams. Access to eLearning materials and vouchers for the A+ 220-901 and 220-902 exams are provided by Amazon Ops Tech IT. If participating associates obtain the A+ certification in the allotted 90 days, the technician role becomes permanent. Learn more about Andre Grass’s experience in Amazon’s A2Tech program here.