Like its parent company Amazon, Amazon Web Services seems to know no barriers as to what services it can offer, which is why it is now stepping into the IT training and job placement sector.
The cloud giant has launched AWS re:Start, a portal that will offer IT skills training in the fields of cloud computing and software development, in addition to job placements for young adults, military veterans and their spouses.
The free programme aims to educate 1,000 young adults and has been set up with QA Consulting, The Prince’s Trust, and the Ministry of Defence.
The programme will also bring together the AWS Partner Network partners and customers to offer work placements.
Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Increasing digital skills in the UK is a major priority for the Government and we are working to make sure that everyone has the skills they need. We welcome the launch of AWS re:Start which is a fantastic initiative bringing together employers from different sectors and providing the foundation on which they can continue to train and grow the UK’s digital workforce.”
The company has been showing some dedicated support to the UK despite ongoing unrest caused by the Brexit vote in 2016. The company launched its first data centre region in the UK at the end of last year, while its parent company, Amazon, is creating another 1,500 jobs across the UK.
AWS has also announced support for The Micro:Bit Foundation, where AWS will be developing training content and courses that can be used by students and teachers in order to build cloud apps.
Participants of the course will complete technical training classes that are led by AWS certified instructors, and will complete work experience to gain on-the-job training.
Additionally, they will learn how to set up new cloud environments and to build applications using software development toolkits for popular languages such as Python.
The Prince’s Trust, through its ‘Get into Technology’ programme, will support students with mentoring and soft work skills, as well as helping them to apply for jobs with resume writing and interview skills training.
Gavin Jackson, UK Managing Director at AWS, said: “AWS re:Start provides a platform from which individuals, no matter what their background, will be able to launch a new career and build a future for themselves in technology.
“We made a significant investment on behalf of our customers with the launch of a new infrastructure region in the UK and today, with AWS re:Start, we are deepening that commitment through training and hands-on experience in the latest cloud computing technologies, helping to provide an ‘on ramp’ for the UK workforce into highly-skilled digital roles.”
The cloud company has also signed the Armed Forces Covenant, which establishes how businesses support members of the UK armed forces community and guards against the discrimination of returning service men and women may face when entering the civilian workforce.
“The launch of AWS re:Start, and AWS’s signing of the Armed Forces Covenant, validate the company’s commitment to our servicemen and women. The program recognises the value that reservists, veterans, service leavers, and their spouses can contribute to UK businesses, and provides them with a clear path for learning, and applying some of the technology skills in most demand across industries,” said General Sir Chris Deverell, Commander, Joint Forces Command, who co-signed the Covenant on behalf of Defence.
Training content for the course will be curated by AWS in collaboration with QA Consulting, which will also deliver the training courses.
As part of AWS increasing its visibility in the UK and to celebrate the recent launch of its UK data centre region, the company in partnership with TfL and Exterion Media have taken over Westminster Station for the day.
The takeover includes temporarily changing station roundels from ‘Westminster’ to ‘Webminster’ and displaying ad posters at the station for a week.
TfL will also be running a month of activity on its site to tell the story of AWS in the UK.
