According to a Gallup survey commissioned by Amazon, 48% of American workers would switch to a new job if offered skills training opportunities and 65% of workers believe employer-provided upskilling is very important when evaluating a potential new job. Recognizing the importance of upskilling as a powerful retention and recruitment tool, in 2019 Amazon’s Career Choice program partnered with Ancora Education to provide its hourly employees access to the technical, hands-on training and classroom education courses they value in an employer.
“At Ancora Education, we recognize firsthand the importance of a secondary education and the opportunities it can provide. Amazon is offering its employees a pathway to improving their lives,” said Natalie Willliams, Vice President of Client Operations, Ancora Education. “We are proud to be an official Amazon education partner and value the trust they have placed in our ability to instruct and train their employees.”
Amazon covers the full tuition for “blue badge” employees who have completed 90 days of continuous employment. Employees have access to both Ancora’s online and in-person training courses.
Through Amazon Career Choice, Ancora Education—and its division Ancora Corporate Training—have helped Amazon employees access the following training and education programs:
- Commercial Drivers License (CDL)
- Mechatronics
- Aerospace
- CNC Machinist
- Electrical Technician
- Combination Welding
- Constructions and Trades Project Management (must have trades experience to enroll)
- Pharmacy Technician
- Medical Clinical Assistant
- IT Support
Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their education journey through a variety of training and upskilling opportunities, including full college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. In the U.S., Amazon is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.
“We’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere,” said Tammy Thieman, Global Program Lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program. “We are glad to have Ancora Education as an education partner so we may continue to offer best-in-class training to our employees.”
Amazon’s Career Choice program has a rigorous selection process for third-party partner educators like Ancora, choosing partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, assisting them with job placements, and overall offering education that leads to career success. To date, over 50,000 Amazon employees around the world have participated in Career Choice.
For more information on Amazon’s Career Choice, visit: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice.
