SEATTLE, WA - Post-pandemic recovery is on everyone’s mind, especially those within the retail sector. Amazon is answering the call with the recent launch of its Amazon Returnship program. This new initiative aims to help professionals get back to work after they lost or left their jobs—including people displaced by the impacts of COVID-19.

“We understand that life happens, and sometimes an event affects career plans,” said Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People eXperience and Technology, Amazon. “While people may need to drop from the workforce to help care for children or aging parents, we believe that this should not penalize their careers. Coming back to work after a break can be challenging—the company you know and the tools you used are likely to have changed. Amazon’s new Returnship program is designed to help professionals reintegrate to the workforce and offers them competitive pay, a structured environment, and personalized mentorship so they can succeed.”

According to a press release, Amazon is offering people who have been without a job or underemployed for at least a year a new opportunity to rejoin the workforce by restarting their careers at Amazon. The company plans to hire 1,000 professionals over the coming years as a result of this new program.

The Amazon Returnship program offers participants an initial 16-week paid working opportunity in several areas across the company, including teams like Operations Finance, Consumer Payments, and Search.

“Returnship programs help companies find talent that they're overlooking using traditional recruiting methods. We see more than 80 percent of participants in programs we work on transition to full-time roles, speaking to the caliber of this segment of the workforce,” said Tami Forman, Executive Director of Path Forward, a nonprofit and a partner for Amazon’s program. “Creating the right path for helping people rejoin the workforce after a break can unlock an enormous economic potential and change the lives of many professionals who so often feel discouraged to even apply to new jobs. Programs like the one Amazon is launching can be life-changing, and we are excited to partner with Amazon to continue expanding these efforts.”

Amazon plans to hire professionals for a variety of roles, ranging from financial analysts to software development engineers. The initiative also expands upon the company's desire to upskill the American workforce, as last year it committed to providing free training for cloud computing skills. With in-demand technical roles piling up, these skills help workers remain competitive.

As the job market continues to raise questions and demand answers, AndNowUKnow will be here digging up the latest information.

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