upskilling 2025 annual report
TRANSCRIPT
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 INTRODUCTION 1
Upskilling 2025 Annual ReportSeptember 2021
Empowering Amazon employees with the skills they need for the jobs of the future.
Table of Contents
Expanding our Upskilling 2025 pledge 3
The American Upskilling Study 4
Upskilling programs for Amazon employees 5–7 New upskilling programs for Amazon employees Original upskilling programs for Amazon employees
Amazon employee stories 8–25 TraceyArcher–AWSTrainingandCertification,ProjectEasley Allia Awad – AWS Grow Our Own Talent Erica Bozeman – Amazon Technical Apprenticeship Justin Carver – Amazon Technical Academy Jasmine Chen – Amazon Technical Academy Felicia Davis – User Experience and Design Research (UXDR) Apprenticeship Mark Ferrer – User Experience and Design Research (UXDR) Apprenticeship Kelly Monroe – Mechatronics & Robotics Apprenticeship Sam Muraguri – Career Choice MelfiPerez–AmazonTechnicalApprenticeship Amarpreet Wasan – Machine Learning University DaveWilliams–AWSTrainingandCertification,TechU
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 INTRODUCTION 3
Expanding our Upskilling 2025 pledge
AspartofitsUpskilling2025pledge,Amazonis investing more than $1.2 billiontoupskill300,000Amazonemployees by 2025.
SincethelaunchofUpskilling2025in2019,more than 70,000 Amazon employees have participated in one of the nine upskilling programs.
Thisyear,Amazonisaddingthree new upskilling programs in datacentermaintenanceandtechnology,IT,anduserexperienceand research design.
Amazon will fund full college tuition, as well as high school diplomas,GEDs,andEnglishasaSecondLanguage(ESL)proficiencycertificationsforitsmorethan750,000front-lineU.S.employees through Career Choice.
Amazon will
pay employees’
tuition and fees in advance
ratherthanoffering
reimbursement after
coursework completion.
Amazonfront-line
employees will
have access to annual funds
for education as long as
theyremainatthecompany,
with no limit to the number
ofyearstheycanbenefit.
All750,000U.S.
hourly employees
are eligible to participate in
Career Choice 90 days after
starting at Amazon.
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 INTRODUCTION 4
The American Upskilling Study
A first-of-it-kind study by Gallup, commissioned by Amazon, shows how access to upskilling is becoming a sought-after employee benefit—and a powerful talent attraction tool. The study found
Most workers want to update their skills. When asked if they wereinterestedinparticipatinginanupskillingprogram,morethanhalf(57%)ofU.S.workerssurveyedwere“extremely”or“very”interestedindoingso.
Amongworkerswhoparticipatedinanupskillingprogram,thevastmajority(75%)reportedexperiencingsometypeofadvancement in their careers.
Sixty-ninepercentofworkerswhowereinterestedinupskillingprogramswere“very”or“extremely”likelyto leave their job for upskilling opportunities provided by another employer.
U.S. workers who completed upskilling programs over the past year have seen an average salary increase of 8.6%—the equivalent ofanadditional$8,000onaverageintheirannualearnings.
Foryoungadultsenteringthelabormarket,employer-fundedupskilling is more important than paid vacation time.
Section 1:
Upskilling programs for Amazon employees
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 UPSKILLING PROGRAMS FOR AMAZON EMPLOYEES 6
New upskilling programs for Amazon employees AWS Grow Our Own Talent offerson-the-jobtrainingandjobplacement
opportunitiestoAmazonemployeesandentry-levelcandidateswithnon-
traditional backgrounds. The training will help them pursue roles to innovate
withinAmazonWebServices(AWS)datacentersandsafelydeliverhigh-quality
cloudcomputingservicestocustomers.Participatingemployeesarehiredinto
roles such as data center technicians and data center engineering operations
technicians,andtheycompletein-person,on-the-jobtrainingforuptosixmonths.
Surge2ITisdesignedtohelpentry-levelITemployeesacrossAmazon’soperations
networkpursuecareersinhigher-payingtechnicalrolesthroughself-pacedlearning
resources. The course helps employees develop necessary skills to advance their
careerintheinformationtechnologyfield,includingsupportingtheAmazon
Roboticspickingandstowingtechnology.ParticipantswhomoveupatAmazoncan
makeanadditional$10,000ayear.
UX Design and Research Apprenticeshipcombinesinstructor-ledtrainingand
real-worldexperienceinaone-yearprogramthatoffersemployeestheopportunity
tolearnanddevelopskillsinresearchanddesignonteamsacrossAmazon,including
PrimeVideo,Alexa,AWS,andAmazonFashion.Graduatesarereadyforjobsthat
helpimprovetheexperienceofAmazoncustomers,frommakingpaymentseasieron
Amazon sites to designing features that make devices more accessible.
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AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 UPSKILLING PROGRAMS FOR AMAZON EMPLOYEES 7
Original upskilling programs for Amazon employeesAmazon Technical Academy trains employees from across the company to
becomeAmazonsoftwareengineers.Thenine-month-longinternaltraining
program is free and does not require a computer science background or a degree.
AmazonTechnicalAcademyhasplaced98%ofitsgraduatesintosoftware
developmentengineerroleswithinAmazon,withtheirsalaryandcompensation
packagesincreasinganaverageof93%.Thisyearmorethan40%ofAmazon
TechnicalAcademygraduatescamefromAmazon’scustomerfulfillmentnetwork.
Amazon Technical Apprenticeshipcreatespathstotechnicaljobs,primarily
for veterans and military spouses looking to transition into technical professions.
Amazoncurrentlyemploysover40,000U.S.veteransandmilitaryspousesacross
multiplebusinessesandrecentlyannouncedplanstohire100,000U.S.veteransand
militaryspousesby2024.
AWS Training and CertificationsoffersAmazonemployeesaccesstomore
than 500 free digital courses to build cloud computing knowledge. As part of this
program,AWSTechUoffersa48-weekacceleratedcareer-developmentprogram
thatblendsproject-basedlearningandon-the-jobtrainingtohelptechnicalearly-
career employees advance their skills.
Career Choicewillpre-payfullcollegetuitionathundredsofeducationpartners
acrossthecountry.Inadditiontofundingassociateandbachelor’sdegrees,
Amazon’sCareerChoicewillalsofundhighschoolcompletion,GEDs,andESL
proficiencycertifications.SincelaunchingCareerChoicein2012,over50,000
Amazonemployeesacross14countriesworldwidehavereceivedtrainingfor
high-demandoccupationsincludingaircraftmechanics,computer-aideddesigners,
commercialtruckdrivers,medicalassistants,nurses,andmore.
Machine Learning Universityisastate-of-the-arttrainingprogramcurated
anddeliveredbyAmazonemployees.Ithelpsemployeeswithabackgroundin
technologyandcodinggaingraduate-levelskillsinmachinelearningandAItobest
solve customer problems.
Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship program participants learn the skills
and technical knowledge needed to pursue a technical maintenance role supporting
ourroboticstechnology.Hundredsofourapprenticeshaveearnednearly3,000
certificationstodate.Uponcompletionoftheirapprenticeship,participantscould
makeanadditional$16,000eachyearonaverageintheirnewrolesatAmazon.
Section 2:
Amazon employee stories
Tracey Archer had worked in bid
management in the commercial
department of a cloud computing
company when she was hired
as a senior bid manager at
AWS. As a condition of her
employmentshe,likeeveryone
inthisrole,neededtopassthe
foundational-levelcertification
for cloud practitioners within
90 days of her arrival.
She ended up hearing from a colleague
aboutProjectEasley.“Hesaidthatit
was a program focused on making sure
morewomenpursuetech,”saysTracey.
“Itwasaguidedtrainingthatwouldtake
several months to help prep you for the
foundationalexam.”AlthoughTraceyhad
alreadypassedherfirstexam,Project
Easleyofferedpreparationassistancefor
thesolutionsarchitectassociate-level
(SAA)certification,whichwouldbethe
next step in the process.
TheprogramisnamedforAnnieEasley,a
Black woman who wrote code for NASA’s
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 9
“To have a program like Project Easley, which allows you to feel comfortable when you have basically no tech experience at all, is a godsend. I think it is a great thing.”
Tracey Archer
AWS Training and Certifications, Project Easley
Centaur rocket stage and was denied
accesstoNASA’seducationalbenefitsfor
her continuing mathematics education.
“Itwasdesignedtocreatea
safe space so that women
felt like we could learn
somethingnew,surrounded
byotherwomen,”shesays.
Although SAA isn’t required
forherjob,Traceyknewitwouldbe
helpful. She takes part in the standing
meetings,ongoingweeklytraining,and
groupdiscussions.“ProjectEasleyhas
made me more comfortable to sign up
for and try other things because it helps
mefeellikeItrulybelong.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 10
WhenAlliaAwadjoinedAmazonasanemployeeat
thefulfillmentcenterinSterling,Virginia,sheviewed
thejobastemporarywhileshefiguredouthernext
step. She was pursuing a college degree and had
been managing two locations for her family’s chain of
convenience stores when she decided that business
management was not for her.
AWS Grow Our Own Talent
Allia Awad
“I was upfront that I’m not very technical, but I’m willing to learn. The hiring manager was super encouraging and welcoming. It gave me more confidence that I would be able to do it.”“IhadtakenajobatAmazonasapart-timejobwhile
Iwasfinishingupschool,”saysAllia.“Mymanager
hadaskedmeifIwantedtolearnprocessassistant
responsibilities,whichwasmoreofatechnicaljob,but
itwasstillanentry-levelroleinthefulfillmentcenter.”
Sheappliedforaprocessassistantjobandreceived
it. That promotion sparked Allia’s interest to pursue a
longer-termcareeratAmazon.
She decided to pursue a role through the AWS
GrowOurOwnTalentprogram,whichspecifically
helps employees and individuals with nontraditional
experience and educational backgrounds move up and
into roles within AWS.
ThroughtheInternalUpskillingprogram,Allia
completedamonthoffullypaidtraining,bothonline
andin-person,tofulfilltherequirementsforhernew
role. She completed the program in 2020 and is now
working full time at AWS.
Allia’snewroleoffersahostofperksthatmakeher
gladshepursuedtheInternalUpskillingopportunity.
“Thework-lifebalanceandeverythingatAWSis
definitelyworthit.AndIhaveareallyawesometeam.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 11
Asasinglemomtofourboys,EricaBozemanneededtofind
betterwork-lifebalancethantheunpredictableschedule
she had experienced for 10 years in the United States Army.
“Everythingrevolvesaroundmykids,”saysErica.“IfI’mgoing
todosomething,Iaskmyself,‘Isitgoingtobenefitmykidsor
isitgoingtohurtmykids?’”
AsEricaconsideredwhethertoreenlistintheArmy,arecruiter
who visited her post each week told her about the Amazon
TechnicalApprenticeshipprogram,whichofferedpaidtechnical
training to members of the military reentering civilian life. She’d
alreadybeentakingsometechnicalcertificationclassesand
polishingherresumé,sowithonlytwomonthsleftinherservice,
shefilledouttheapplication.
Twenty-fourhourslater,sheheardbackfromAmazonand
withinjustafewweeksshebeganherDepartmentofLabor-
certifieddatacentertechnicianapprenticeshipprogramwith
Amazon.TheAWS-designedclassroomlearningwastough,
butsheandhercohort,whichincludednineadditionalformer
militarymembers,helpedeachotherthroughit.Afterheron-
the-jobtraining,shewasreadytoconductthediagnosticsand
repairs that help ensure the overall availability and reliability of
our data centers.
EricaappreciatestheregularityofherMonday-through-Thursday
schedule,whichallowshertoprioritizehertimewithhersons.
She’s also spent time helping other former military members
transition from the military into Amazon’s apprenticeship program.
Shealsobelieveshernewdatatechnicianjobhasputheronthe
path toward growing greater generational wealth for her family
andsomedayowningherownbusiness.“I’vealwayswantedto
beabusinessowner,butIknowittakestimetogettothatpoint.
SowheneverIfeellikeI’mreadytobreakouttomybusiness
ventures,thenIwill.”
Amazon Technical Apprenticeship
Erica Bozeman
“I just wanted to spend more time with my kids and to be able to have home and work balance. Amazon provided that to me.”
Justin Carver has long been interested in
and connected to software development—
hisfatherwasaprogrammer,andhis
grandfather was a pioneering video game
developer. But he was having trouble
securingthetypeofjobhereallywanted.
“I’vebeenworkingeversinceIdropped
outofcollegebackin2016,”saysJustin.“I
foundcollegeabittooslowforme,andI
decidedtotryandpursueajobincoding.”
He invested in a programming course
butcouldn’tgetmuchtraction.“Iwas19
yearsold,hadlearnedjustonecoding
language,anddidn’thaveanyprevious
workexperience.SowhenIgotoutinto
theworkforce,Istruggledtofindajob
doingwhatIwanted.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 12
Justin Carver
Amazon Technical Academy
“Amazon Technical Academy got us up to speed with the high-level parts of the job—that continuous deployment, not just around the coding, but everything that goes into being a software development engineer at Amazon.”
After struggling to make ends meet taking
oninternships,afriendwho’dtakenajob
inITsupportatAmazonsuggestedJustin
dothesame.“SoIwoundupgetting
hiredonasanITsupporttechnicianand
workedinafulfillmentcenterhelpingto
streamline issues they were having with
differentelectronics—reallyjustanything
todowithaWi-Fisignal.”Astheissues
hesolvedbecamerepetitive,Justingot
restless for what was next.
HeknewAmazonofferedcareer
development resources; but when he
found out about Amazon Technical
Academy,hewasstunned.“Icouldn’t
believe it was real for Amazon to pay me
togodowhatIlove,teachmehowtodo
it,andhelpmesecureajobattheend.
Itwasadreamcometrue.”
He was accepted into the program and
relocated with his wife and family to
Seattle to take part in the knowledge
developmentandon-the-jobtraining.
Aftergraduatingfromthenine-month
program,Justinimmediatelysecureda
software development engineer role at
Amazon Web Services supporting a service
that helps customers visualize and analyze
theirdata.“Itwassuperhelpfultohave
Amazon Technical Academy and be able
to learn without being thrown into the
fireimmediately.Theycultivatedagreat
learningenvironment.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 13
JasmineChenjoinedAmazonasanexecutiveassistant
in the human resources department at Amazon Web
Services. She had graduated with a foreign languages
andliteraturedegree,specializinginEnglish,from
NationalTaiwanUniversityinTaipei,oneofthetop
schools in Asia.
Inhighschool,Jasminehadbeeninterestedin
software engineering. But the coding culture at the
timeshookherconfidence.“Itwasaveryacademic
environment,”recallsJasmine.“Weweresentto
these coding competitions where you were supposed
tocodeoffline,andIhatedit.IjustthoughtIwasn’t
cutouttomemorizeallthesedifferentalgorithms
andfunctions.IthoughtIwasreallybadatit,so
thenIpivotedtowardliterature.”
Earlyoninschool,Jasminesaidherinterestincoding
was at odds with what people expected of her.
“WhenpeoplewouldhearthatIwantedtogointo
softwaredevelopment,theresponsewas,‘Oh,you
wanttodothis?’Thiswas10yearsago,andnow
everybody’s learning to code. But back then these
doubtswereputinmyhead,like,‘AmIgoodenough?
AmIsmartenough?’”
JasminemovedtoSeattle,whereshefeltshecould
beclosetotheindustry.Shetookajobatasoftware
consultingcompanyasanexecutiveassistant,figuring
she could make a career pivot within the organization.
Hereffortswererebuffed.“ImentionedIhad
coded a bit before and wanted to get into software
development.Butmybossandothermanagers,
includingarecruitingmanager,justkindoflaughed
itoff.Iwasn’tevenofferedtheopportunitytojob
shadow.Itwasprettydefeating.”
Amazon Technical Academy
Jasmine Chen
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 14
When Jasmine came over to AWS in another executive assistant
role,shefoundthekindofencouragementshewasseekingand
learnedaboutAmazonTechnicalAcademy.“Allofthepeople—
fromtheVPIwassupportingtothedirectorstofellowexecutive
assistants—werevery,verysupportivewhentheyheardIwas
thinking about applying for the Amazon Technical Academy
program,eventhoughIwasonlyontheteamforalittlebit.And
Ireallyappreciatedthat.”
JasminejoinedAmazonTechnicalAcademyinJuly2020.“Due
tothepandemic,theteamputinalotofefforttoshiftthe
entireprogramintoafullyonlineexperience,”explainsJasmine.
“Becauseofhowsuccessfultheremoteexperiencehasbeen,the
programactuallychangeditsentirecurriculumtofullyonline,
evenpost-pandemic,sothatAmazoncanexpandparticipation
toemployeesfromacrosstheentireUnitedStates.”
Despitethelackofin-personcontact,sheenjoyedthe
camaraderieofherfellowparticipants,whorangedfrom
fulfillmentcenteremployeestocustomerservicerepresentatives
to program managers. She also appreciated the program’s spirit
ofinclusiveness.“Theprogramisdefinitelyverydiverse,from
theparticipantstotheinstructors.AndIreallythinkthatthey
highlight the importance of making sure that everybody feels
includedandnobodyfeltleftout.”
Afterninemonthsoftraining,Jasminebeganher12-week
internshipwithAWS’sBuilderToolsteam,whereshefocused
onsecuritypatching.“Weownedaninternaltoolthatkeeps
ourinternalservicesecure.”
Sheisnowafull-timesoftwaredevelopmentengineeronthe
AmazonHaloteam,arolethatalignswithherpersonalhealth
andwellnesspassion.“Iamgettingpaidtokeeplearning,
whichisjustamazing.”
“One of the biggest learnings coming out of Amazon Technical Academy is that we will never learn everything or know everything. But we’ll be more comfortable dealing with ambiguity and knowing how to learn and troubleshoot and unblock ourselves.”
AMAZONUPSKILLINGREPORT2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 15
Felicia E. Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing
and previously worked as a graphic designer while
alsoworkinginacustomersupportroleatAmazon,
fieldingcustomercallsandtroubleshootingtheir
issues. Her favorite thing about working in customer
service support was digging in on the most
challengingcustomerissues.“AnytimeIwashelpinga
customer,Iwouldgosoin-depthtohelpthem,”says
Felicia.“IfIstillcouldnothelpthemwiththeirissue
orIhadapersistentproblemwithmycustomersthat
day,Iwouldaskwhy-how-whattypeofquestions
touncoverhowbesttosolvetheproblem—Ialways
wantedtohelpmore.”
Felicia shared her curiosity with a marketing mentor.
“Iwasencouragedtolookintobecomingaresearcher
becauseIknewIwasprettygoodatit.Sothat’swhen
UXDR Apprenticeship
Felicia Davis
AMAZONUPSKILLINGREPORT2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 16
mentors to support her through the
applicationprocess,whichinvolveda
projectpresentationandafour-hour
interview.InApril2021,Feliciacompleted
her boot camp program and was accepted
intotheinauguralapprenticeshipcohort,
wherethousandsofpeoplehadapplied.
Uponcompletingtheinstructor-led
portionoftheapprenticeship,which
for now is being conducted in a virtual
classroomsetting,Feliciaandherfellow
students will have the option to apply
their learnings alongside their teams for
theremainderoftheirtrainingyear.
Felicia has been assigned to the Alexa
DiscoveryandProductivityteam,which
helps customers discover the many things
they can do with their Alexa devices. She
believesthisteamisanexcellentfitforher
goals.“Asanapprentice,Icangainhands-
ondesignandresearchexperienceasI
continue to grow as a designer. My years
incustomerexperience,marketing,and
graphicandUXdesign,withoutadoubt,
all propelled me to work alongside Alexa’s
designteam.”
IstartedGooglingtypesofresearchers,
and‘userexperienceorUX’waslistedas
aqualification.”Sheenrolledinanine-
month boot camp to learn more about
UXresearch,UXdesign,information
architecture,andmore.
She then learned of Amazon’s newly
formed User Design and Research
ApprenticeshipProgram,whichprovides
the opportunity to learn and develop
research,design,andleadershipskills
outsideofafour-yearcollegeprogram.
She reached out to her network of
“Depending on the more advanced role I take when I graduate, my salary could more than double from what I was making in my entry-level customer service role.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 17
UXDR Apprenticeship
Mark Ferrer
“I’m just happy to be getting back into the creative design environment and working with the creative design team. That’s what really excites me the most.”
Mark Ferrer was intrigued by Amazon’s culture from
thetimehejoinedaBayAreaAmazonGostoreas
leadassociateattheendof2018.“AsIwaslearning
howtobesuccessfulinAmazon,Ifoundthatits
leadershipprinciplesmatchedwellwithme,”saysMark.
“Theyprovidedthetoolstogetthejobdone,which
empoweredmetofinishthetask.”
TheAmazonGojobwasnotMark’sfirstroleinretail,
but he had graduated with a degree in graphic and
web design and was looking for a way to advance
within the organization. The new Design and Research
Apprenticeshipprogramprovidedthatcatalyst.“Iwas
lookingatacoupleofoutsideprograms,likeboot
campsforuserexperienceandvisualdesign,priorto
thisapprenticeship.ButIwasreallyunabletoafford
going back to school full time because of the impact
ofCOVID-19onmyfinances.SoIwashappyAmazon
launchedthisprogram.Itwasagreatopportunityto
learnatacompanyIwasalreadyworkingfor.”
Although Mark is in the early stages of this new
program,heisexcited.“What’ssupercoolaboutthis
experience is that Amazon designers who are already in
thefield—designmanagersandseniorUXdesigners—
arepartofourclasses,servingasteachingassistants.”
Inaddition,hissalarynearlydoubledinhismore
specialized role as a design apprentice.
Mark appreciates he can continue to learn how to
be successful at Amazon while learning about UX
design.“Thefactthatyou’regettingrealinsightsfrom
designers that are actually working for the company
thatyouareinhelpsyougetadjustedtotheculture
right away instead of graduating from a program and
thenhavingtofigureouthowacultureworks.”
KellyMonroejoinedAmazonwithaplan.The
Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship helped
put it in action.
Kellyhadspent18yearscaringforhertwochildren,
abletotakeononlyoccasionalpart-timecustomer
servicejobsbecauseofthemedicalneedsofher
daughter.Still,she’dmanagedtoearnacomputer
networking degree she planned to use in a career that
wouldutilizeherloveoflearning,especiallyabout
technology,assoonasherhomeresponsibilities
lightened. When she read that Amazon was opening
itsfirstfulfillmentcenterincentralOhioin2016,she
recognized it as the turning point she’d been waiting for.
Kellytookapart-time,entry-leveljobinthefulfillment
center loading up trailers—not exactly using her
interestintechnology,butshewashappytobeat
Amazon.“Iwaslike,‘IknowaboutAmazon.Iwantto
beatAmazon,’Iknewtheywerepushingtechnology
forward and there was going to be an opportunity for
metogrowwhenIgotinthere.”Withinthreeyears
Kellywasworkingasafull-timeprocessassistantinthe
fulfillmentcenter,makingrecommendationsformore
efficientpracticesforherteamandkeepinganeyeon
the career development opportunities Amazon makes
availabletoitsemployees.“IknewIwasnotgoingto
stayanassociatelevelforever,”saysKelly.“Thatwasn’t
mymindset.WhenIcamehere,mywholegoalwasto
comeinandutilizewhatIalreadyknewandthenadd
tothatwhatAmazonwasgoingtoteachme.”
An email about the Mechatronics and Robotics
Apprenticeship prompted a meeting with a recruiter
whotoldherabouttheprogram.The12-week
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 18
Kelly Monroe
Mechatronics and Robotics
Apprenticeship
the12-weektraining.TheseschoolsarelocatedinIndiana,
Pennsylvania,Texas,NorthCarolina,andGeorgia.Upon
successfulcompletionofthe12-weektraining,associatesreturn
toAmazonfacilitiesforadditionalon-the-joblearning.
ForKelly,turningherpassionfortechnologyintoacareerhas
been transformative. Within a week of completing her classroom
education,Kellywasabletoaccomplishareal-worldrepairwithin
anAmazonfulfillmentcenterinDallas,Texas,whereshe’snow
doingon-the-joblearning.Whenoneoftherobotsthatmoved
podsaroundthefacilitystalled,Kellyidentifiedtheproblemas
a missing sensor in the drive. Her supervisor encouraged her to
diveinandownthetroubleshootingandtomakerepairs.“That
wasmyfirsttimeopeninguptherobot,buttheywerelike,‘Kelly,
youfoundit,youfixit.’SoIreplacedthephotosensor.”That
firstrepairfilledKellywithconfidence.“Eversinceandthey’ve
beentellingme,‘Kelly,you’redoingagoodjobkeepingour
floorat100%.’”
AfterKellycompletesher2,000hoursofon-the-joblearning—
which she’s on track to complete by the end of Spring 2022—she
willbeamechatronicsjuniortechnician.Butshedoesnotplan
tostopthere.“I’mhopingforsomethingalittlebitbiggerthan
that.Ilovetolearn.I’mnotafraidofit.Ataminimum,Iwantto
completethenextphaseofthisprogram.Ijustdon’twanttobe
stagnant—I’mshootingforthestars.”
classroomsessionwascomprehensive,andKellywouldbepaid
throughout,allowinghertocoverherlearningexpenseswhile
shegainedaneducation,training,andvaluablecertifications,
furtheringhergoaltopursueanin-demand,specializedtechnical
maintenance role at Amazon.
Kelly succeeded by augmenting her classroom learning with
strongstudyskills.“Istudiedalotonmyownandspent40hours
aweekintheclassroom.Butthiswasnewstuffforme,andI
learnedasmuchasIcouldaboutwhatmyhands-onexperiences
weregoingtobe.”Shecompletedfourindustry-recognized
certificationsalongwithapost-educationalassessment.
The Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship launched in
May2020,andgraduatesseeasubstantialincreaseintheir
compensation upon completion. The apprenticeship program
haspartneredwithfivehighereducationinstitutionstodeliver
“When I came here, my whole goal was to come in and utilize what I already knew, and then add in what Amazon was going to teach me.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 19
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 20
Career Choice
Samuel Muraguri
Thefirsttime38-year-oldSamuel
MuragurilefthisnativeKenya,itwasto
cometotheUnitedStatestojoinhis
mother,whohadimmigratedtoAmerica
more than a decade earlier. Samuel had
beenanentrepreneurinKenya.Inthe
U.S.,hefoundworkasapackerinoneof
Amazon’s warehouses near Seattle.
Despitenolongerbeinghisownboss,
Samuel found his new surroundings
interesting.“Igottomeetpeoplefrom
differentcultures,”saysSamuel.Inworking
atAmazon,Samuellearnedalotabout
the innovative technology embedded
withinafulfillmentcenter.Hewasequally
intriguedbytheAmazon-sponsoredcareer
development options he heard about
soonafterhis2016hire.“Irememberthey
would show videos of these people who
hadgonethroughCareerChoice,andI
foundouttheywereofferingacommercial
drivinglicenseclass.”
TheclasswasofferedthroughAmazon’s
CareerChoice,aprogramthatpaysfull
tuitionandfeesforcollegetuition,high
schooldiplomas,GED’s,andEnglishas
aSecondLanguage(ESL)proficiency
certifications.
Alongwithcommercialtrucking,popular
education paths include information
technology,healthcare,andmechanical
and skilled trades. The education and
trainingmaybein-person,online,or
in classrooms located within Amazon’s
fulfillmentcenters.Morethan50,000
workersin14countrieshaveparticipated
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 21
“Career Choice put me on the path to success. They gave me the opportunity to do something with my life, and they were flexible enough to let me change shifts so I could go to school.”
in Career Choice since its launch in 2012.
“Itwashardtobelievetherewasa
company that was going to pay you to go
toschoolandgetanotherjoboutsidetheir
company,”saysSamuel.
After Samuel received his commercial
truckinglicense,heleftAmazonfora
car-haulingbusiness.“Iwasabletomake
moremoney,whichallowedmetobuy
ahousein2018,justtwoyearsafterI
arrivedintheU.S.ThisissomethingI
didn’t think was possible with me being
newtothecountry.”
Samuel’s connection to Amazon didn’t end
there,however.Stillanentrepreneurat
heart,hehadobservedtheobsessionwith
coffeethroughoutthePacificNorthwest,
and he considered how he could use
his connections back home to meet this
demand.“Wewantedabusinessthatwas
goingtocreateasolution,andthesolution
we got was to connect the farmers directly
withtheconsumers.”
Samuelstartedacoffeebusiness,
UpendoCoffee,andnowsellshis
productsonAmazon.“I’mreallyhappy
to sell on Amazon because it’s the very
sameplaceIwasworking.Knowingmy
coffeeisgoingthroughthesameplace
Iwaspackingboxesgivesmeafeeling
ofachievement.”
Samuel considers his accomplishments
to be the result of his own hard work and
the opportunities made possible by his
firstU.S.employer.“Ifyoudon’tmake
any excuses and you work toward your
goals,anythingispossible.Youjusthave
to be set on the right path and have
therightguidance,whichiswhatCareer
Choice did for me. They put me on a
pathtosuccess.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 22
Amazon Technical Apprenticeship
Melfi Perez
SoonafterMelfiPerezseparatedfromtheU.S.Air
Forcein2014,shewascertainoftwothings:She
wantedtocompleteherundergraduatedegree,and
she had a passion for technology.
MelfiusedtheGIBilltoearnadegreeininformation
technology from Montclair State University in New
Jerseywhileinterninginautilitycompany’sIT
department.Duringherjobsearch,sheresearched
Amazon’scultureandvalues.“Ireallylikethecore
valuesofAmazon,andalotoftheleadership
principlesresonatewithme.SoIuploadedmyresumé
andcompletedaprofile.Afewmonthslater,Ihad
a recruiter reach out about the Amazon Technical
Apprenticeshipprogram,whichiscertifiedbythe
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 23
DepartmentofLabor.”Theprogram
specificallycateredtoveteransand
military spouses.
Melfilikedwhatshelearnedfromthe
recruiter.“Thiswasoneofthereally
amazingpartsofAmazon,wheretheir
customer obsession kind of shined
through. There were other companies that
weredoingsimilarapprenticeships,but
AmazonwastheonlyoneIcameacross
that was also paying their apprentices
duringthelearningportion.”
InMay2019,MelfitraveledtoSeattle
to begin attending the technical boot
camp,followedbytheclassroomlearning
portionofherprogram.“Thebootcamp
didagoodjobteachingusthatit’sOKif
we don’t know something and showing
us tools to learn what you don’t know.
That’s very important as a software
engineer,becausedealingwithambiguity
is something that we have to learn how to
handleonadailybasis.”
Successful completion of those two
components led to her heading down to
SantaBarbara,California,tobeginher
on-the-jobtrainingatarecentlyacquired
startup supporting Alexa’s question and
“There are very few companies out there that are willing to invest in new people in this manner.”
answer service. After completing her
apprenticeship,Melfiwasconvertedto
afull-timesoftwaredevelopment
engineer in October 2019. As part
oftheGraphiqteam,Melfiispaired
with knowledge engineers to code the
responses Alexa provides when customers
ask her a question.
“Thisprogramopensthedoorforpeople
togetpaidtolearnandfigureoutifthey
enjoyafield.Andiftheydoreallywell,
they’llhaveajob.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 24
WhenAmarpreetWasanjoinedAmazonasabusiness
intelligenceengineer,hewaseagertoputhisdegreeindata
science and analytics to use and to work in a discipline he
foundparticularlyintriguing.“Icameacrossmachinelearning
atCarnegieMellon,”saysAmarpreet.“I’dreallywantedtobuild
machinelearningproductsandservicessinceI’dgraduated,butI
nevergotanopportunity.”
FrompostersaroundAmazonbuildings,Amarpreetbecame
awareofMachineLearningUniversity,aninitiativethathelps
technology-andcoding-focusedAmazonemployeesdevelop
their machine learning skills.
MachineLearningUniversity’sexpert-ledclassesandonline
learning modules gave him the opportunity to strengthen his
machine learning knowledge to such a degree that he was able
to take on much bigger challenges to support his particular
supply chain organization. Amarpreet successfully built products
for customers as a result of his participation in Machine Learning
University.Currently,theseproductsareusedbyawiderangeof
customers and are part of daily key decision making.
Amarpreet was promoted to data science manager and now
leads a team of seven people—all working on launching
machine learning products that help Amazon operations teams
improve the physical movement of items and containers within
fulfillmentcenters,savingmillionsofdollarsincost.“These
products actually help supply chain organization better serve
ourmanycustomers.Myteamiscurrentlyworkingonfivenew
productssettolaunchin2021.”
“The mentorship I got from Machine Learning University set the foundation for my success at Amazon. A key thing for me was making strong relationships with people who helped me deliver my products.”
Amarpreet Wasan
Machine Learning University
The program continues to be a resource and community for
Amarpreet.“IamgratefultoAmazon’suniqueofferingof
Machine Learning University to build and grow internal talent.
This is an exciting platform for someone who wants to learn
machine learning to solve business problems and make an
impact.IstilltakecourseswithMachineLearningUniversity
to continue expanding the breadth and the depth of my
knowledge and come up with novel ways to address customer
problems,enablingustodelivertheend-to-endmachine
learningproductsandservices.”
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 AMAZON EMPLOYEE STORIES 25
DaveWilliamswaslookingforajobthatcouldcombinehis
experienceinthetechnicalsideoffinancialservices,his
advanceddegreeincybersecurity,andhisinterestincloud
computing. He found it through an Amazon Web Services
programcalledTechU,anaccelerated,12-monthcareer-
developmentprogramwithfull-timepayandbenefitsthat
blendsproject-basedlearningandon-the-jobtrainingtohelp
new employees starting technical roles at AWS.
specializedtraining,mentorship,andprojectsdesignedto
accelerate their technical career paths. AWS Tech U graduates
arepreparedtoserveassolutionsarchitects,technicaltrainers,
and professional services consultant roles within AWS.
ForDave,theprogramalsofosteredenduringconnectionswith
membersofhiscohort.“Thegroupworkgeneratedsomecross-
pollinationofthoughtsandideas,”saysDave.“Wedeveloped
someprettycloserelationshipsthroughthatprogram.Istillwork
withorwillpingsomeofmycohortonoccasion,justtoaska
question.Iappreciategettingtobuildbothlifelongfriendships
andprofessionalrelationships.”
Today,Daveworksasaseniordatascienceconsultantat
AWS,workingdirectlywithcustomerstomeettheirtechnical
needs,withanemphasisonartificialintelligenceandmachine
learning services.
WithoutAWSTechU,Davewouldnothavehadtheflexibility
and dedicated time to expand his knowledge of cloud computing
in a format that encouraged proactive career development
withinAmazon.“Ithinktheprogramreallytaughtustotake
it upon ourselves to go learn what’s needed for whatever the
customer problem is. My experience in Tech U strengthened
mytechnicaldepthandabilitytoprovideeffectivethought
leadership,whichwereessentialinmovingmycareerforward.”
“I hadn’t done any cloud-based work previously, so I saw it as an opportunity to get that technical skill set and be able to use it at an industry leader like Amazon.”
Dave Williams
AWS Training and Certification, Tech U
Aspartoftheprogram,Daveparticipatedintraining,breakout
collaborativesessions,andindependentstudywithother
Amazon employees who were also looking to improve their
career outlook.
Sinceitsinceptionin2017,AWSTechUhasprovidedearly-
career Amazon employees the time and space to develop
soft skills and technical expertise through a combination of
AMAZON UPSKILLING REPORT 2021 UPSKILLING PROGRAMS FOR AMAZON EMPLOYEES 26
To learn more about Amazon’s upskilling commitment and its programs, visit www.aboutamazon.com/upskilling2025