A local area manager who started his career as a warehouse associate is hoping his story will inspire others to engage in lifelong learning following Learning at Work Week 2022 (16th-22nd May).

Joe Harris from Manchester works at the Amazon fulfilment centre in the city, having risen through the ranks from his first role at Amazon as warehouse associate.

Joe is telling his story following Learning at Work Week, an annual programme run by the charity Campaign for Learning. The charity works with organisations around the UK to help create activities and fun challenges in the workplace to help employees learn and grow.

The theme of Learning at Work Week 2022 was Learning Uncovered, and focused on deepening society’s understanding, knowledge and engagement in lifelong and continual learning.

Joe, who has worked for Amazon for six years, has used the company’s development and training opportunities to progress and now works as area manager.

Joe joined the Amazon team in Manchester in 2016, just as the fulfilment centre was preparing to open. Having left his architecture course at Manchester University, Joe wanted to figure out his next step. He needed some temporary work, so he decided to join Amazon as a warehouse associate.

Joe has used multiple training and development opportunities at Amazon in the last five and a half years to progress to a management role. He is now an area manager, responsible for leading a large team at the fulfilment centre in Airport City.

Speaking about his career development at Amazon, Joe explains that the support he’s received since day one has been a key factor in progressing to the management role he holds today. “Amazon offers so much support and there are so many people here who you can talk to, who are really open to helping you,” he said. “I’ve a lot of great managers around me who’ve really helped me get to where I am today,” he added.

Joe’s favourite part of being an area manager at Amazon is being given the responsibility to manage a team. “It’s nice to speak to people and work together in a safe, fun environment,” he said. “You really get a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day when you know the orders you have been sending out of the building are going to make a difference to people and leading a team that’s able to do that is my favourite part of the job.”

For anyone thinking about applying for a role at Amazon, Joe’s advice is simple – go for it. “If you have a mindset of putting yourself forward for things, then Amazon is the right place for you. There are endless opportunities for career development, and I couldn’t recommend the company more highly.”

Amazon Manchester Site Leader, Ian Jackson, added: “We are extremely proud of Joe for how he has risen through the ranks since joining Amazon in 2016. He is a valued member of the team here at Amazon in Manchester and we hope that his story will inspire others to enrich their own careers through the wide variety of development programmes available to them. Joe models the benefits of committing to lifelong learning and we are excited to see him progress even further with us.”

Amazon employees receive competitive pay and comprehensive benefits. Pay starts at a minimum of £10.00 or £11.10 per hour depending on location and employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an employee discount – which combined are worth more than £700 annually – as well as a company pension plan.

Amazon offers employees Career Choice, an innovative programme which pre-pays 95% 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 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.

Amazon is investing £10 million over three years in training up to 5,000 employees in new skills to meet the UK’s future employment needs outside of Amazon. Amazon is also partnering with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and local businesses on the programme to identify regional skills shortages and focus training on local demand.