A reliability maintenance engineering (RME) area manager from Sutton is sharing his career story during Learning at Work Week 2023 (15^th-21^st May) with the aim of inspiring others to achieve their professional goals through lifelong learning at work.

Learning at Work Week is an annual programme run by the charity Campaign for Learning. The charity works with organisations around the UK to create activities and fun challenges in the workplace to help employees learn and grow. This year’s theme, Create the Future, explores how lifelong learning at work can help individuals and communities achieve life and work goals, shape lives, drive innovation and achieve organisational ambitions.

Paul Epton, who works at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Sutton, has used Amazon’s development and training opportunities to shape his professional career at the company and hopes his story will encourage others to take their career to the next level through the Amazon Career Choice programme.

Paul is an RME area manager. Paul has completed several courses through the Amazon Career Choice programme that have allowed him to progress in his career.

Paul was in the military for six years before working as a cable and fibre optics engineer for five years. After the company he worked for went into liquidation, Paul discovered a job opportunity at Amazon and decided to apply. He joined the company in 2010 and hasn’t looked back.

Paul joined Amazon as a seasonal support technician for the engineering department before he was encouraged to take part in the Amazon Career Choice programme. Through the programme, he gained qualifications in engineering, and has also studied people management, fire safety and diversity and inclusion.

Speaking on his experience of Amazon Career Choice, Paul said: “I have been lucky to take part in a few Career Choice courses in a variety of topics over the years, as well as being given the opportunity to work at Amazon in Poland for two years, which was a great chance to experience a different culture. Being able to work with different people, network between countries and build relationships with colleagues is one of my favourite things about working at Amazon, and at every step I’ve been given opportunities to enhance my skillset.”

To anyone considering putting themselves forward for the Amazon Career Choice programme, Paul added: “I’m a big advocate for Career Choice, and I believe it’s a great way to learn and develop skills. There’s an amazing range of courses available, and if you’re open to learning, the possibilities are endless.”

What’s next for Paul? He would like to work more closely with engineering equipment, whilst also encouraging his colleagues to develop their skills. He hopes to continue progressing through the business.

Career Choice is an innovative programme which provides funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95% of tuition and reimburse employees for eligible fees for nationally recognised courses; up to £8,000 over four years. Courses available include accountancy, HGV driving and software development, and are designed to help employees pursue careers at Amazon or elsewhere.

Since launching in the UK in 2014, Career Choice has seen around 13,000 participants explore a range of opportunities, including starting or returning to school, learning new skills and languages, or earning industry certifications. The most popular fields of study in the UK are transportation administrative and business services and technology.

Amazon also provides opportunities to improve existing skills or learn new ones through internal career progression opportunities such as cross-training, transferring to a different department and promotion into a managerial role.

Amazon Sutton general manager Vivek Khanka added: “We’re extremely pleased to have Paul on the team here at Amazon in Sutton-in-Ashfield. He is an example of how much you can achieve if you put your mind to it, and we’re sure that others will be inspired to fulfil their own potential after hearing his story. Career development is at the core of our culture at Amazon; employees have a wide variety of opportunities at their disposal, meaning that lifelong learning is possible for anyone. We look forward to seeing the great things Paul and his colleagues will do in their careers in the future as a result.”

To find out more about a career with Amazon, visit Amazon Jobs.