An Amazon apprentice at the Sutton fulfilment centre is encouraging others to start an apprenticeship and boost their careers as Amazon announces the expansion of its apprenticeship programme with the addition of 1,000 new positions across the UK in 2024.

Amazon offers private sector apprenticeships, including entry-level placements and more than 230 degree-level apprenticeships in programmes including accounting and data analysts.

 Recruitment has now started for more than 30 different schemes, from sustainability to engineering, project management to product buying, and warehouse team leaders to health and safety technicians.

 This year, Amazon is also launching new programmes including the digital product manager apprenticeship and the commercial procurement and supply apprenticeship. The range of different apprenticeship schemes reflect both Amazon’s diverse workforce and the communities it serves every day across the UK.

 As well as offering hundreds of new roles to external candidates, more than half of the new apprenticeships will be offered to existing employees who will have the opportunity to retrain and gain new skills for an exciting new career path. In 2023, two thirds (67%) of new apprentices at Amazon were aged 25 and over, an increase of 10% year on year, which demonstrates the support apprenticeships provide in helping people pursue new careers.

One of the apprentices currently taking part in an Amazon apprenticeship is Sophie Turner, of Sherwood.

Sophie works on the HR team at Amazon. She is currently completing a Level 5 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) HR Consultant Partner apprenticeship, which she started in April 2023.

Sophie left school after doing her A-Levels and worked as a sales assistant. She progressed to an assistant store manager role but was made redundant during the pandemic, so she looked for a job at Amazon. She started in the packing department at Amazon in Sutton-in-Ashfield on the fulfilment centre’s launch day in October 2020.

In March 2021, Sophie applied for an HR associate partner step-up role, as well as a Level 3 CIPD HR Support apprenticeship. She was offered both opportunities and completed her first apprenticeship in March 2023 while working as an HR associate partner.

“I never really wanted to go to university, and I like that the apprenticeship programme gives me the opportunity to learn alongside my job,” Sophie explains. “My apprenticeship offers me a real variety of tasks and activities. I work on-site from Monday to Thursday. No two days are the same, which I love. On Fridays, I take the day to do any assignments or apprenticeship activities I need to complete.”

 Speaking on why she applied for the apprenticeship at Amazon, Sophie says: “As soon as I started with Amazon, I knew I wanted to progress to the next level. I had experience of managerial roles before Amazon, and it just so happened that both a job and apprenticeship in HR were available at the same time. I knew the apprenticeship would give me the educational background to HR that I didn’t have, and I wanted to gain a better insight into the role and continue to challenge myself.”

She adds, “I love how different every day is at Amazon, how you can work in a team and independently. I never dread coming to work and really like the people I work with every day.

“The role I’m in builds your people skills to enable you to work with different people. We are a people-driven service, and we want to bring the best out of the people we work with.”

Sophie shares some advice for someone considering an apprenticeship at Amazon. She says: “Definitely do it. It will be worth it, even if it feels overwhelming at the beginning. Stick with it and network with people in your apprenticeship cohort. We have a group chat and regularly attend workshops together, so focus on building those good relationships.”

 Sophie is due to finish her apprenticeship in 2025 and has hopes of progressing into a business partner role in the future.

Nicola Drury, head of Skills and Apprenticeships at Amazon, said: “Every year we look forward to recruiting ambitious and enthusiastic apprentices to join our teams working to deliver for customers all over the UK. Whether they’re retraining to begin a new and exciting career, or gaining new skills to take their career in a new direction, we’re proud to provide opportunities for people to find their dream roles.”