Apprenti Celebrates Veteran's Day Highlighting Success of Amazon Technical Apprenticeship Program

Demand for Tech Workers Highlights Apprenti's National Role in Building a Diverse and Robust Workforce

SEATTLE, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Apprenti, a national leader in registered tech apprenticeships, is celebrating its partnership with Amazon to source, assess, train, and place tech talent ahead of both Veteran's Day and National Apprenticeship Week, which kicks off on November 14. Over the last five years, Apprenti has placed more than 5,000 apprentices in tech roles and over 1,000 veterans at Amazon.

"Registered tech apprenticeships are a critical part of addressing the nation's pressing workforce needs," said Jennifer Carlson, Executive Director of Apprenti. "We need to rapidly increase the number of people in the tech field to help organizations address acute digital skills shortages. By working with hiring partners like Amazon, we're able to bridge the gap and place diverse talent into high paying jobs."

Through Apprenti, Amazon's Technical Apprenticeship Program helps people transition to careers in cloud computing, and a majority of participants have started working at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Even without previous technical experience, apprentices gain valuable skills through a paid training course coupled with on-the-job training to best prepare them for careers at Amazon where their work makes a global impact. The program is part of Amazon's commitment to provide free education and skills training to more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025 as part of a $1.2 billion commitment.

"This year, Apprenti helped us create pathways to rewarding careers at Amazon and AWS for hundreds of veterans, many of whom did not have prior technical experience," said Jay Shankar, Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at AWS. "Through our apprenticeship program, military veterans and their spouses have transitioned into cloud computing jobs that provide upward economic mobility and valuable career experience in a fast-growing field."

Building on the success of the Amazon Technical Apprenticeship Program, Apprenti and Amazon are collaborating to replicate this success by training more cloud workers for Amazon customers and partners across the US. Apprenti has been awarded the Good Jobs Challenge Grant to develop this expansion. The Good Jobs Challenge highlights workforce development as key to accelerating local economic growth.

"When I was transitioning out of the military, I knew I wanted to enter the tech industry, but I didn't know how to get there. To make it even trickier, I didn't have a traditional IT background or degree," said Karla Navarrete, Amazon Systems Development Engineer, EC2 Nitro and U.S. Army Veteran. "Amazon's Technical Apprenticeship program has significantly impacted my career in the best way possible."

On November 14 and 15 in Seattle, Amazon and Apprenti will bring over 500 Amazon apprentice graduates to celebrate their success. Apprenti will also host a national apprenticeship graduation on November 17.

Apprenti, a 501(c)3 non-profit, delivers registered apprenticeship programs to bridge the tech talent and diversity gaps. By adapting the time-tested model of apprenticeship, Apprenti helps employers meet evolving workforce needs and trains future tech workers with an emphasis on underrepresented groups including women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities. Apprenti's programs are industry recognized and federally approved for employers with tech talent needs across the United States. For more information on how to apply, donate, or become a hiring partner, please visit www.ApprentiCareers.org.

SOURCE Apprenti