Amazon in Coalville has teamed up with the Campaign for Learning's Learning at Work Week to encourage employees to enhance their careers - and pursue their dream job.

Learning at Work Week 2020 (5 – 11 October), delivered by educational charity Campaign for Learning, aims to put a spotlight on the importance and benefits of continual learning and development.

This year, the charity's theme for Learning at Work Week is 'Learning Journeys', which aims to encourage collaboration, training and development to help people to achieve new experiences inside and outside work.

One initiative Amazon offers employees is an innovative programme called Career Choice, which pre-pays 95 per cent of tuition for courses in high-demand fields, up to £8,000 over four years, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.

Amazon has also recruited more than 700 apprentices during 2020, helping young people begin their careers in fields ranging from automation engineering and IT to digital marketing and fashion buyers, with pay of up to £30,000 a year for degree-level apprenticeships.

A typical apprenticeship combines theoretical learning with hands-on training, enabling participants to obtain qualifications and degrees and earn money in the process.

Amazon also provides opportunities to improve existing skills or learn new ones through internal career progression opportunities such as cross-training, transferring to a different department and promotion into a managerial role.

Amelia Richardson, 22, who has worked for Amazon for three years, has been on her own learning journey.

Amelia is currently taking part in the Amazon Apprenticeship Programme, studying engineering.

She will graduate in 2021, when she hopes to take on an engineering role at Amazon in Coalville.

She said: "Before coming to Amazon, I worked in sales for a large telecommunications company.

"Since joining Amazon, I have been working my way through a Level 3 in Engineering, and a Level 2 in practical skills.

"I am currently studying for an HNC and NVQ level 3, so I've had lots of learning opportunities in the three years I've been here.

"I am due to graduate from my apprenticeship in September 2021, so hopefully after that I will be able to start my journey as a fully qualified member of the Reliability and Maintenance Engineering department at Amazon and take full advantage of all the other learning opportunities Amazon offers to help me progress and expand on my career options.

"There are many different options and pathways for you to succeed in reaching your career goals at Amazon, and one of these is the Career Choice programme.

"My advice to anyone who wants to develop their career, both inside Amazon and at other companies, is explore your options and speak to people around you as most will be willing to advise, help and support you on your own learning journey.

"My journey with Amazon has been full of friendly faces, exciting experiences, and stupendous support. I am looking forward to continuing on this journey and seeing what else Amazon has to offer."

Amazon Coalville General Manager, Martin Cox, added: "Amelia's progress at Amazon has been inspiring for us all and it's fantastic to see how she has engaged with the team since joining us.

"At Amazon, we pride ourselves on offering associates opportunities to grow and learn through a variety of development programmes. It's fantastic to team up with Campaign for Learning during Learning at Work Week and we're looking forward to many more of our associates joining Amelia in developing their learning journeys."

Julia Wright, National Director, Campaign for Learning said: "Learning at Work Week is all about raising the profile of learning, and showing how it can help you get to where you want to be, whatever your starting point.

"It's great to see how Amazon is supporting colleagues to develop at work through apprenticeships, Career Choice and internal career progression. We hope colleagues enjoy exploring during the week the opportunities on offer, as it's never too late to start a learning journey."

Amazon says it provides some of the most advanced workplaces of their kind in the world, with industry-leading pay, processes and systems to ensure the wellbeing and safety of all employees.

Pay starts at £9.70p/h for all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees working in the Amazon fulfilment centre in Coalville.

Employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals and an employee discount – which combined are worth more than £700 annually – as well as a company pension plan.

Amazon recently announced that 10,000 new permanent roles are being created across the UK in 2020, taking the company's total permanent UK workforce to more than 40,000.

The new roles, including engineers, graduates, HR and IT professionals, health and safety and finance specialists, as well as the teams who will pick, pack and ship customer orders, will help Amazon meet growing customer demand and enable small and medium sized enterprises selling on Amazon to scale their businesses.

In addition, Amazon is creating 20,000 seasonal positions across the UK ahead of the festive period at its sites across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and at three pop-up fulfilment centres.