Swindon & Wiltshire News
Three in five people in South West favour on-the-job training over university degrees – Amazon
More than three in five people in the South West believe that on-the-job skills training or apprenticeships are more valuable for preparing people for work today than traditional university degrees, according to new research released by e-commerce giant Amazon.
The Amazon Future of Work & Career Development European study, which comes as students wait for their GCSE and A-Level results, also found a quarter of adults aged 16-75 in the South West believe that a traditional university degree is as essential for a good career as it was 10 years ago.
The study was commissioned by Amazon to mark the 10th anniversary of the Amazon Career Choice programme. The programme provides 95 per cent of pre-paid tuition, up to £8,000 over four years, for nationally recognised courses from more than 20 colleges and universities throughout the UK.
It offers various training opportunities in a range of popular, in-demand job fields, from tech and sustainability to business administration and logistics, for its operations employees across the country.
The research shows that More than three in five workers in the South West (62 per cent) believe that on-the-job skills training or apprenticeships are more valuable for preparing people for work today than traditional university degrees.
A quarter (25 per cent) of workers in the South West aged 16-75 believe that a traditional university degree is as essential for a good career as it was 10 years ago.
When it comes to looking for a new job or role, the majority (79 per cent) of people in the South West say career development training is important to them.
When thinking about moving to a new job or role, 79 per cent of adults in the South West say career development training is essential, very or fairly important and that training programmes offered by a potential employer is more or as important as company culture (81 per cent) and flexible working (68 per cent).
One potential reason is that many South West workers in the study said it would make them feel motivated (39 per cent) supported (38 per cent), and valued (31 per cent) to work for a company that provides access to career development training.
One in four workers in the South West (24 per cent) say they couldn’t afford to pay for training on their own. When it comes to jobs in the future, the study shows that training will need to play a key role in alleviating South West worker concerns, as 29 per cent of workers are worried they won’t have the training and skills to be relevant in their job in the coming years.
In fact, seven in ten workers (70 per cent) believe that people in the workforce today will need to continue to retrain and update their skills to continue working in the future.
However, only 11 per cent of employees in the South West say they have access to training to help them change their career path, and 19 per cent of employees say they don’t think they have any access to training with their current employer.
David Tindal, general manager at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Swindon, said: “The research reflects what we’re seeing across our sites in the South West, and that is people in the region want access to skills training programmes.
“Amazon is proud to have offered our upskilling Career Choice programme in the UK for the past 10 years and now to further expand on our course options, so that thousands of employees in the South West and across the UK can continue to advance their skills and take on new career opportunities at Amazon and beyond.”
In 2014, Amazon launched its Career Choice programme in the UK providing its operations employees with funding for adult education, offering to pre-pay 95 per cent of tuition and reimbursement for eligible fees for nationally recognised courses – up to £8,000 over four years.
Since the launch of Career Choice, Amazon has invested more than £55 million to give its UK employees access to more than 20 different programmes to help them maximise their potential within the company or further afield.
To mark the 10th anniversary of Career Choice, Amazon plans to invest a further £23 million in the UK this year and has added new courses including information security analysis, software testing, and procurement and supply chain.
Cristina Oprea (pictured) works in the HR department at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Swindon. She initially joined the picking department at the Amazon Daventry fulfilment centre in 2016 after moving to the UK from Moldova.
Cristina wanted to pursue a career in HR, so joined the Amazon Career Choice programme. She has completed HR CIPD Level 3 and Level 5 certifications through Amazon Career Choice.
Cristina met her husband Aleksandar working at Amazon, and the pair now have two children – four-year old Gabriel and two-year old Elena. Aleksandar is currently completing an RME Mechatronics Apprenticeship through the Amazon Apprenticeship programme.
Amazon is one of the top 10 private employers in the UK, with more than 75,000 employees, and more than 18,500 Amazon employees in the UK have participated in Career Choice since the programme launched.
