Amazon announces new funding for SME apprenticeships in England

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 12, 2023

Amazon isn’t just a giant on the retail front. The global e-tailer is also big when it comes to funding and its Amazon Apprenticeship scheme is notching up £8 million in backing since launch in 2021.

The latest leg of the scheme aims to fund 300 new roles supporting 250 small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and partners over the next 12 months. Since inception, that will mean creating more than 750 apprenticeships outside of Amazon across the UK.

In the next year, it will fund the new apprenticeship roles in small businesses and organisations selling on Amazon, plus Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers, creative industry partners and local authorities through the company’s apprenticeship levy. 

These will cover a wide range of jobs, from Digital Marketing to Visual Effects Artists, Cyber Security specialists, and more.

Lasting between 12-48 months, and covering apprenticeship standards up to £27,000, apprentices will receive a mix of on-the-job and classroom training.
 
“Apprenticeships play an important role in securing a talent pipeline for the future, providing hands-on experience and an alternative entry-point to the workforce”, Amazon said. 

In the past five years, it has onboarded more than 3,000 apprentices, with three-quarters completing their respective schemes, well above the national retention average (51%). Some 86% of apprentices who were on a scheme at Amazon have gone on to take a permanent role at the company after completing their programme.

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, said: “When we launched in 2021, we made a commitment to support around 250 new apprenticeships through the fund, but we’ve been inspired by the success of the programme to date, and expect to create around three times that number by this time next year.

“It means people across the country have been given a head-start in their career, or transferred into a new career with the right support and opportunities. As we expand, we hope other larger employers will also choose to transfer some of their unspent levy to create more valuable apprenticeship roles for people across England to gain new skills, supporting productivity and innovation.”