Amazon establishes £2.5m apprenticeship fund
Online retailing giant Amazon has revealed details of a new apprenticeship fund, designed to help small businesses across England take on apprentices through the levy transfer scheme.
The £2.5 million investment in the Amazon Apprenticeship Fund will help create more than 200 new apprenticeships in 2021, via the with roles now available across Digital Marketing, Business Administration, Post Production Technical Operators, Visual Effects Artists, Broadcast and Media Technicians, DevOps Engineers, AI Data Specialists, Software Development, Data Analysts, Cyber Security Technologists and more.
In addition, Amazon, which has a fulfilment centre in Rugeley, is working with a number of local authorities who will serve as a transfer partner for small businesses, including the West Midlands Combined Authority, London Progression Collaboration and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Amazon will work directly with small businesses selling on Amazon to help boost their productivity, sales, exports and marketing skills for the digital age by taking on apprentices who will undertake training in these areas.
Lasting between 12-48 months, and covering apprenticeship standards funding of up to £27,000, apprentices will receive a mix of on-the-job and classroom training, together with specialist online learning provided by Amazon which covers how to build a successful e-commerce business, how to market and advertise products to customers, and how to sell to a global customer base.
As part of the Apprenticeship Fund, Amazon is supporting 50 apprentices for customers of Amazon Web Services (AWS) when they take on AWS re/Start graduates in IT technical apprenticeship roles, such as DevOps and IT Solutions.
“We are proud to be creating new opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds across England to gain skills through the Amazon Apprenticeship Fund, ” said, John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon.
“We are committed to supporting the UK 's economic recovery post-Covid, and this fund will give our partners, customers and small businesses in the Amazon ecosystem the opportunity to take on talented apprentices who will help those organisations grow. ”
Amazon is encouraging small businesses in the creative industries, together with AWS customers, small businesses selling on Amazon and local authorities who are interested in supporting new apprenticeship roles to contact [email protected] from today, where they will be put in touch with a member of the Amazon Apprenticeships team.