Empowering Employees to Keep Pace

As technology transforms industries, Amazon’s historic investments in skills training are paying off

BY CURTIS GREER

THE SPEED AND SCALE of innovation today require U.S. workers across industries to continually adapt in order to remain competitive, maximize their earning potential, and pursue fulfilling careers.

At Amazon, where we have created more jobs than any other U.S. company over the past decade, we’re committed to helping our employees access educational and skills training opportunities they can use to grow their careers.

More than 425,000 Amazon employees in the U.S. have participated in our free skills training programs since 2019 — programs designed and updated based on employee feedback to help members of our workforce advance their careers.

Our flagship education program, Career Choice, prepays tuition for eligible hourly employees, with no employment commitment or repayment strings attached. More than 250,000 employees have participated (more than 2,500 in Delaware alone), receiving training for high-demand positions.

In Delaware, we prepay tuition for eligible employees to attend programs at partner institutions including the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College. Thanks to Career Choice, some of our employees in Delaware have transitioned into careers in truck driving, nursing, software development, and IT support.

A recent survey by Access Partnership and Amazon Web Services (AWS) found that 92% of organizations plan to implement AI-powered solutions by 2028 — and they’re willing to offer higher wages to workers proficient in this technology. We want to ensure all our employees, and anyone with a desire to learn, are prepared for emerging career opportunities.

Through Amazon’s Machine Learning University (MLU), we’re empowering employees with technology and coding backgrounds to gain skills in machine learning, an AI field that is playing an increasingly important role in customer innovation and worker safety. Originally launched as a small pilot program, MLU is on course to train thousands of our employees over the coming years.

Amazon’s upskilling programs create pathways to job placement and come at no cost to employees, meaning our workers don’t deal with complicated reimbursement processes. We offer flexible work schedules so employees can schedule classes at convenient times.

We’ve found that the benefits of these initiatives extend beyond individual advancement.

A recent study from Oxford Economics demonstrated how Amazon’s investments contribute to local communities across the United States. The study spotlighted our fulfillment center in Wilmington, Del., for “reviv[ing] a shuttered work location and creat[ing] quality employment opportunities.” It also emphasized Amazon’s focus on hiring directly from the local community, providing competitive starting salaries and benefits, and upskilling the local workforce as key economic benefits to the broader Delaware community.

For Amazon, these investments in employee upskilling are more than an employee benefit. They’re a wager that a highly skilled workforce will pay huge dividends for our workers, company, communities, and economy.

That wager is already paying off.

Curtis Greer is the general manager, ILG1 at Amazon’s facility in New Castle, Del.