Technology giant Amazon is hiring 10,000 employees in the UK as it opens more warehouses in England. This is due to the continuing rise in online shopping since the pandemic.
A number of corporate roles are also being created in Cambridge, Edinburgh, London and Manchester. Adding thousands of new roles to its offices and warehouses will increase its UK workforce to over 55,000 by the end of the year. This move is “a huge vote of confidence in the British economy”, and strengthens their position in the UK.
The coronavirus pandemic caused an upward trend in online shopping. While some smaller businesses and physical shops struggled due to lockdowns, tech giants such as Amazon reaped the benefits. In the first three months of this year, its profits more than tripled to $8.1bn (£5.76bn).
However, the firm has previously come under fire for its poor working conditions, allegations which it denies. They are offering pay of £9.70 per hour, or £10.80 in London, for an operations role, plus benefits.
Investing in training and skills
Amazon is making a huge investment in the retail sector, and opening up a range of opportunities for more workers. The online retail giant plans to open a number of new “fulfilment” warehouses across England, and a “parcel receive” warehouse in Doncaster. New office roles are in AI, digital marketing, engineering, fashion, machine learning, software development and video production. It is also recruiting in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing business and its operations network.
The company is also investing £10m over three years in a bid to give people transferable skills. The scheme aims to train 5,000 employees in subjects including accountancy, HGV driving and software development. Amazon will pay 95% of tuition and other fees for adult education courses.
Amazon are working with local chambers of commerce to identify regional skills shortages. They hope to give people a stepping stone in their career path by providing staff with training to plug skills gaps in local business community. This is key to increasing productivity and boosting the UK economy as we recover from the pandemic.
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