A total of more than 110,000 Amazon employees have participated in Career Choice in recent years. Last year, they expanded our U.S. Career Choice offerings to include prepaid college tuition, English language courses, GED prep and high school diploma programs. Over 6,000 individuals participated in the English-language proficiency programs in the first year, and over 220 earned GEDs, along with 55 individuals earning high school diplomas. Dana and Adam are employees who earned GED certificates through Career Choice. Let’s learn how they intend to utilize their education to build their careers below:
A part-time job Dana held at a museum was terminated in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As a result of her home-schooling, Dana was unable to prove that she had completed high school, and the unemployment rate was high. She was concerned about finding work during a time of uncertainty. As a new employee at Amazon and no credible job experience, she began as a sorter in a fulfillment center. She said it was tiring at first, but also gave her an opportunity to demonstrate that she was a resilient individual. In order to prepare for her GED, Dana had already begun her studies. She was eager to learn that Amazon offered GED preparation through Career Choice. Following this, she enrolled in a Career Choice industry certification program where she studied environmental technology to become a certified environmental technician. She is currently seeking a degree in environmental engineering as her next career goal.
The next example is Adam, It wasn’t until Adam joined Amazon in August 2020 that he considered furthering his education. Adam had previously been working in construction for five years before discovering Amazon’s education programs through Career Choice. In fact, he persuaded both his mother and roommate to join him at Amazon and pursue further education through Career Choice. His career at Amazon has led to two promotions and he is now interviewing for his third promotion. Thanks to Career Choice, Adam is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in information technology. Aside from applying for the Amazon Technical Academy, Adam has also applied for the Amazon Technical Academy, which provides training and employment opportunities to software development engineers as part of Amazon’s skills-training programs. The dream of Adam is to establish an IT store one day.
Alexis Boutilier is from Vancouver, British Columbia. She has a high interest in all things tech and loves to stay engaged on all the latest appliances and accessories.