Amazon Announces Major Investment in High-Tech Training
Amazon will spend $700 million training employees for high-tech roles.
Amazon plans to invest more than $700 million in training its own employees for high-tech roles.
Amazon, like all companies, has a difficult time finding highly skilled workers while the job market remains strong.
"The harder it is to hire workers from the outside, the more sense it makes to invest in training the workers you already have," Jed Kolko, chief economist at job site Indeed, told the AP.
This will not be a one-size-fits-all model. According to the report, there will be various training programs available depending on a worker's skill or experience level. Most will be offered for free, and will even allow employees to seek jobs outside of Amazon.
"While many of our employees want to build their careers here, for others it might be a stepping stone to different aspirations," said Beth Galetti, a senior vice president of human resources at Amazon. "We think it's important to invest in our employees, and to help them gain new skills and create more professional options for themselves."
The announcement of the training programs comes as Amazon faces tighter scrutiny for its treatment of employees, particularly in its warehouses and distribution centers.
Amazon says it expects to have more than 300,000 U.S.-based employees by the end of 2019.