Amazon UK Boss Urges Mandatory Work Experience as 1 Million Young Britons Remain Jobless
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 21
Amazon UK Boss Urges Mandatory Work Experience as 1 Million Young Britons Remain Jobless
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 21
John Boumphrey said nearly 1 million young Britons out of education, employment or training should not be blamed for unemployment, arguing the problem is a skills system that leaves school-leavers unready for work.
Amazon, which employs 75,000 people in the UK, says it still struggles to hire for technical roles such as mechatronics engineers and robot maintenance staff even as the wider jobs market weakens.
Boumphrey called for mandatory work experience for over-16s, saying placements build teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills that employers need but schools often do not teach.
UK unemployment edged up to 5% in the three months to March from 4.9%, with young people hit by cuts to hospitality jobs and graduate schemes.
The remarks add to scrutiny of Amazon's UK footprint: Boumphrey said the company contributed more than £5.8 billion last year and pointed to its 100 UK sites and 30% share of online sales.
With AI replacing junior roles, is blaming schools for the UK's youth skills gap missing the bigger picture?
Will mandatory work experience fix the skills gap or just create a new system of unpaid youth labour?