Way to go, Amazon.com!

Snowboarder_Bo · July 24, 2012, 4:22am

So I just went to Amazon.com to see if they have a movie available (the documentary Shoah, because I just read thru Siam Sam’s thread on it; they do), and on the front page is a big letter talking about Amazon’s employment policies and safety record and stuff. They talk particularly about how they hire lots of extra people for seasonal employment and how they work hard to hire returning military vets to help them transition into civilian life. Towards the end, they announce a new program they are starting:

amazon.com:

Many of our fulfillment center employees will choose to build their careers at Amazon. For others, a job at Amazon might be a step towards a career in another field. We want to make it easier for employees to make that choice and pursue their aspirations. It can be difficult in this economy to have the flexibility and financial resources to teach yourself new skills. So, for people who’ve been with us as little as three years, we’re offering to pre-pay 95% of the cost of courses such as aircraft mechanics, computer-aided design, machine tool technologies, medical lab technologies, nursing, and many other fields.

The program is unusual. Unlike traditional tuition reimbursement programs, we exclusively fund education only in areas that are well-paying and in high demand according to sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and we fund those areas regardless of whether those skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.

I was kind of taken aback. Here’s a company that is offering to help pay for training for it’s employees in fields that will almost certainly not be needed by amazon.com itself. And not just any job, but specifically jobs that are listed as having good pay and high demand.

That’s… awesome!

It seems to me that this is a very forward looking policy. People who get that training and go into those fields will have more disposable income to spend at places like amazon.com. And I have a hard time thinking of anyone disliking the policy, so it creates a bunch of good PR both internally and externally, thus making it more likely that people in general will a) want to work at amazon.com and 2) want to buy stuff from them, not to mention (in conclusion) Hi, Opal!

I hope the program is a success, and think whoever thought this up should get a bonus, like maybe a bunch of free mp3 downloads (that’s what they give me for buying stuff, ya know what I’m sayin’?).

AClockworkMelon · July 24, 2012, 5:24am

Let’s go down to the quarry and throw stuff in there.

Snowboarder_Bo · July 24, 2012, 6:13am

What is it that you find funny enough to laugh at in what Amazon is doing? :dubious:

zoid · July 24, 2012, 6:20am

Well it made me want to go down…

SHIT, I just can’t do it.

picunurse · July 24, 2012, 6:28am

They were inspired by another Seattle company, Dick’s Drive-in. Dick’s has provided scholarships for their (mostly teen) employees for many years.

Snowboarder_Bo · July 24, 2012, 6:55am

That is similarly awesome. Next time I’m in Seattle, I’ll have to see if I can head over there for a shake and fries.

Disheavel · July 24, 2012, 9:17am

Dick’s appears in all of my visits there to be a very stand-up place. I have met a couple of people who did a year of their scholarship program- in both cases both found other jobs or wanted a different job as their 2nd year of studies was more intense. It isn’t too hard to see how Amazon seeks to mirror that mentality. Two other Seattle area-based companies that are also known for their good benefits are Starbucks and CostCo. So I would actually bet that the CostCo model is more the one that Amazon is trying to mimic. Happy employee = free advertising = their family and friends becoming loyal customers. CostCo is famous for not advertising and using word of mouth (much of which is by employees) to spread the word.