Amazon has announced a $1 billion global investment in its Career Choice programme to prepare hundreds of thousands of operations employees for in-demand careers of the future, and pledged to quadruple its Supported Internship programme in the UK, supporting more than 1,000 young people with learning disabilities and autism into work, by 2030.
The commitments, unveiled at the company's Delivering the Future event in Dartford, London and part of Amazon's $2.5 billion Future Ready 2030 pledge, reflect two sides of the same ambition: equipping people with the skills to thrive as AI and automation reshape the world of work, and ensuring those who face the biggest barriers to employment are not left behind.
Reshaping Career Choice to prepare employees for the future of work
Career Choice is Amazon's flagship upskilling programme, designed to empower employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere, providing access to education and training opportunities that prepare them for in-demand careers. Amazon pre-pays tuition, even when it means people leave the company. Over 300,000 employees globally have participated in Career Choice since 2012, including more than 30,000 in the UK.
The $1 billion commitment means Amazon plans to upskill another 500,000 employees globally, and double the number of Career Choice participants in the UK.
The $1 billion commitment means Amazon plans to upskill another 500,000 employees globally, and double the number of Career Choice participants in the UK.
As part of this transformation, Career Choice will be refocused around the qualifications and career pathways that are most in demand in all 14 countries where it operates. This will ensure the programme evolves in step with the changing economy and focuses on areas of job growth: cybersecurity, software development, logistics, renewable energy, and mechatronics. Courses are designed to offer flexibility around varying work schedules, through partnerships with more than 90 educational institutions across Europe.
At Amazon's Tilbury fulfilment centre in Essex, Anvesh Ejapa joined as an associate packing items for customers. Through Career Choice, he completed a pre-apprenticeship course in mechatronics engineering, funded by Amazon, while he continued working shifts. He's now a mechatronics apprentice, learning to install, maintain, and repair the robotics systems that power the operation.
Career Choice sits within Amazon's Future Ready 2030 commitment, a $2.5 billion global pledge to help 50 million people build skills for the future of work. In 2026 alone, Amazon is investing more than €30 million in Career Choice across Europe.
"We couldn't find enough skilled people for the roles we need, so we made a decision: we're going to develop them ourselves. That's what this $1 billion commitment to Career Choice is about, preparing hundreds of thousands of employees for the careers of the future."
John Boumphrey
Amazon UK Country ManagerSupported Internships: more than 1,000 young people with SEND into work by 2030
The vast majority of people with learning disabilities in the UK want to work, however 95% are unemployed. Amazon's Supported Internships programme is designed to close that gap, providing structured pathways into permanent employment for young people aged 18 to 24 with learning disabilities and autism.
Since launching in 2021 with partner DFN Project Search, Amazon has supported almost 300 young people through the programme across 25 UK sites, making it the largest private sector provider of Supported Internships in the country.
Today, Amazon announced plans to quadruple the programme, supporting more than 1,000 young people with learning disabilities and autism into employment by 2030.
Today, Amazon announced plans to quadruple the programme, supporting more than 1,000 young people with learning disabilities and autism into employment by 2030.
Each participant will undertake a structured placement at an Amazon fulfilment centre, combining classroom learning with hands-on work experience. They will be paired with a dedicated job coach who provides tailored guidance and workplace mentoring throughout, helping them build practical skills, confidence, and independence.
More than 80% of Amazon's Supported Internship graduates move into permanent employment, with 74% employed directly by Amazon.
Rhys Cole completed his Supported Internship at Amazon's Swansea fulfilment centre and is now in a permanent role with a competitive salary, private medical insurance and full benefits package. He's learned to manage a budget, navigate public transport and build a routine, skills that will stay with him for life. He's a highly valued member of the team, who now helps make sure every new starter feels welcome.
"More than nine in ten people with learning disabilities in this country are unemployed, despite the vast majority wanting to work. That's not a skills gap, that's a failure of imagination on the part of employers. By 2030, we now plan to quadruple this programme, supporting more than 1,000 young people into work across more than 40 sites. We're scaling this because it works."
John Boumphrey
Amazon UK Country ManagerPreparing the workforce for the future
Today's announcements — one global, one local — reflect Amazon's belief that investing in people means both preparing the workforce for the future and making sure no one is left behind.
Career Choice and Supported Internships sit alongside a wider set of Amazon programmes in the UK: more than 6,000 apprenticeships created since 2013, with apprentices working in robotics, engineering and data science; the JOBS Project with Barnardo's, which has supported more than 750 care-experienced and economically inactive young people into work since 2021; AWS training programmes preparing 100,000 UK learners for AI careers; our Amazon for Schools programme, reaching students in classrooms across the country.
Across Amazon's UK employability programmes over the past two years, more than 85% of participants progress into employment or education, generating £4 in social value for every £1 invested.
Amazon plans to invest £40 billion in the UK from 2025 to 2027. Almost half of Amazon's entry-level hires were previously unemployed or coming straight from education, starting on nearly £30,000 a year with private medical insurance from day one, with no zero-hours contracts. As principal partner of The Multibank, Amazon has helped redistribute more than 16 million products through more than 2 million orders to families in need in the last four years.
