Amazon creates 1,000 new apprenticeships in the UK

Amazon said the new apprenticeships will be in disciplines ranging from IT, safety technicians and human resources, through to software engineering, creative digital design and robotics.

The retailer, which earlier this week revealed a 51% leap in UK sales last year to £19.4bn and the news that founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos would be stepping down from the day-to-day running of the organisation, said the positions held the opportunity of full-time roles for at least 500 of the applicants. 

Amazon said apprentices will be paid £10.80 an hour in the London area and £9.70 an hour in other parts of the UK, and up to £30,000 a year for degree-level apprenticeships.

Of the 1,000 apprenticeships, Amazon said it would offer half to existing employees in the UK business. 

The apprenticeships last between 14 months and three years and provide hands-on training. 

Amazon said it created 10,000 new jobs in the UK in 2020 as the pandemic helped spur rapid growth for the business in the country and it now employs more than 40,000 people in Britain.

Amazon UK country manager John Boumphrey said: “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.

“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.”