Amazon’s Aycliffe apprentice helps to mark major milestone

An apprentice from Newton Aycliffe has helped Amazon celebrate the 10th anniversary of its apprenticeship programme and is sharing his story in the hope of inspiring people in Darlington to follow in his footsteps.

Taylor Dockerty from Aycliffe is one of the 1,600 apprentices currently taking part in the Amazon Apprenticeship programme. 5,000 apprenticeships have been offered in the UK in the last 10 years.

Taylor works at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Darlington as an IT support technician and is studying an ICT AWS support technician degree through the Amazon Apprenticeship programme.

After venturing down different career paths in finance and completing a university degree in English Literature, Taylor found his way to IT through a long-time interest in the industry.

He had just received a qualification in web development when he came across the apprenticeship opportunity at Amazon and was urged by his partner to apply.

Taylor said: “At Amazon, there are limitless opportunities for growth and development, and you are surrounded by a team of people who are invested in helping you along the way.

“If you are keen to keep learning and challenging yourself, then definitely get involved in this apprenticeship programme.

“You are guaranteed to develop your skills in whatever field you’re interested in, with complete support from your team and management.”

To mark the tenth year of the Amazon Apprenticeship programme, Brit-nominated, South London artist Cat Burns was the headline act at a mentoring event for 200 aspiring apprentices in one of Amazon’s largest fulfilment centres in the UK, marking the tenth anniversary of the company’s apprenticeship programme.

The audience included Amazon employees and apprentices, alongside 200 members of Apprentice Nation, the career development platform, that uses the power of music to inspire 16-25-year olds to shape their future.

When the Amazon apprenticeship programme launched in 2013, it had one scheme – engineering – and only six apprentices.

Five are still employees of the business today and are flourishing as engineers in fulfilment centres in Dunfermline, Rugeley and Swansea.

This year, Amazon has offered hundreds of full-time apprenticeship roles across the UK starting at entry-level and including around 250 degree-level apprenticeships in over 30 different schemes ranging from engineering to broadcast production, warehouse team leaders to buying and merchandising.

In total, since the launch of the Amazon apprenticeship programme in 2013, there have been 5,000 Amazon apprenticeships offered in the UK.

Amazon’s UK country manager, John Boumphrey, said: “We are exceptionally proud to be celebrating 10 years of our apprenticeship programme, providing opportunities for upskilling and retraining for people of all ages, at all stages of their careers.

“Apprenticeships are key to equipping people with the skills they need to progress in today’s labour market, and we now offer one of the broadest and largest apprenticeship programmes in the UK.”

Minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education, Robert Halfon MP, added: “I applaud Amazon for its decade-long commitment to apprenticeships.

“Giving 5,000 people the opportunity to earn while they learn and develop the skills needed to succeed is key to building a skills and apprenticeships nation, and I hope that more employers follow in their footsteps.”