An apprentice from Basildon is calling on local people and his fellow colleagues to pursue the career they have always wanted by applying for an apprenticeship.
Nick Hart is an operations apprentice working at Amazon in Tilbury. He started his apprenticeship with Amazon in 2017 and is working towards a qualification to become an operations team leader after two years of training and study with Amazon.
Speaking about the Amazon Apprenticeship Programme, Nick said, “A great thing about the Amazon Apprenticeship Programme is the variety of the role. We pick, stow and send products around the building. After that, we’ll get involved in a lot of operational activities, getting things from point A to point B. Part of the apprenticeship is working in lots of different areas, and you can move around every three or four months.”
I love organisation and this is the ultimate place for that.
Speaking on his favourite thing about the apprenticeship so far, Nick said, “I enjoy learning from lots of different people and the aspects of how they work; how Amazon works. It’s really streamlined – I love organisation and this is the ultimate place for that. There are many people that I’ve learned from who are also doing an apprenticeship. We help each other and guide each other throughout the process.”
Nick is one of over 300 apprentices currently working at Amazon in the UK. Amazon has announced it will create a further 1,000 new apprenticeships for new and existing employees in fulfilment centres and development centres across the country. The new apprentices will add to over 27,500 permanent employees currently in the UK, with pay ranging from an entry level starting salary of £9.50/£10.50 an hour, up to £30,000 a year.
Nine different programmes are on offer across the country to people of all levels, ranging from IT, safety and HR through to software engineering, robotics, leadership and technology.
Two-in-every-ten new apprenticeships will be offered exclusively to Amazon’s existing workforce, providing a route from working on the shop floor through to working on cutting-edge software development, robotics technology and senior leadership roles in the business.
In addition to being fully-funded, apprentices also receive industry-leading benefits including competitive pay, employee discounts, private medical insurance and company pension plan.
For anyone thinking about applying for a place on the Amazon Apprenticeship Programme, Nick has some advice. “Go for it – it is a way to better yourself. It’s not a hard job, but it’s very rewarding when you succeed. You feel accomplished and that you’re making a difference. You can do things that you didn’t think you could do and learn things that you didn’t think you could learn. It’s also great because you can apply your learning to everyday life.”
To find out more about the Amazon Apprenticeship Programme visit www.amazon.jobs/apprentices
