The transportation industry is facing a significant skills shortage, with more drivers needed with specialized drivers’ licenses and certifications. In fact, the transportation industry is expected to see significant growth in employment, with more than 240,000 higher-paying annual job openings expected through 2032, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Amazon’s Career Choice offers a pivotal training program that meets the growing demand for commercial truck drivers via a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) course that teaches employees the skills needed to become truck drivers, including long-haul and freight drivers. The transportation program, one of the most popular offered by Career Choice, directly addresses the need for these skilled professionals by pre-paying tuition for employees to go to driving school.
Empowering employees for new opportunities
The success of programs like the Career Choice truck-driving training program is rooted in its market-driven approach. Programs are carefully selected based on labor analysis, ensuring that the careers and skills training programs offered meet the needs of in-demand industries. This unique approach as an employer not only leads to a high success rate for Career Choice graduates, but also increases their ability to secure jobs and internships after completing their certification.
The Career Choice program is more than just an employee upskilling benefit—it’s a pathway to new opportunities, reflecting Amazon’s commitment to its workforce. The program is designed to prepare employees for roles in industries, such as technology, mechanical and industrial systems, health care, business and administration, and transportation.
Since the program launched, more than 28,000 Amazon employees have participated in the truck-driving training program offered through Career Choice, with thousands of participants successfully transitioning into new roles in commercial driving around the world. Graduates of the program not only finish with a CDL, but are also prepared to move into a new career in truck driving through extensive training and a job network. Many, like Isaac Iroz and Abel Tuyisenge, have completed the training program with a renewed sense of confidence and skills needed to thrive in their new careers.
Isaac Iroz, Salt Lake City, Utah
Isaac Iroz joined Amazon in 2019 after navigating the difficulties of homelessness. He began his career as a sorter in a fulfillment center when he heard about the Career Choice benefit. Knowing that he wanted more professionally, he began the truck-driving program with Ancora Training.
Through the program, employees like Iroz are trained on how to inspect and operate tractor-trailers, accident prevention, driver responsibilities, and motor carrier safety and compliance regulations. “When I saw the truck driving job, I knew that I would have a better life for myself,” Iroz said. “Today I feel secure. I feel relaxed about what tomorrow brings. If it hadn’t been for Amazon Career Choice, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Career Choice changed my life.”
Abel Tuyisenge, Rockford, Illinois
As a refugee from Uganda, Abel Tuyisenge relocated to the United States and began his journey with Amazon in 2021 as an ambassador, providing safety and process training to other employees. He was promoted to a trainer position, where he instructed other employees on building, safety, and packaging procedures. While in this role, Tuyisenge developed an interest in transportation after learning more about how the trailers were used throughout the warehouses. “I was dreaming of driving trucks and wanted to learn more about how to maneuver the big trailers,” Tuyisenge said. “I decided to go for it. I chose the trucking program through Career Choice with 160 Driving Academy.”
Through the training program, Tuyisenge was able to earn his CDL and joined Amazon’s transportation team. In his new role, he’s able to operate large trucks to transport materials throughout the facility center. “My dreams were coming true so fast,” he said. “The experience I gained was beyond my expectations. I dream of one day becoming a business owner and owning my own trucks.”
Meeting job demand with certifications
The importance of these programs not only comes from the skills that employees are able to gain, but also in the doors the programs continue to open for them. Graduates of the Career Choice program are able to find new career opportunities both internally with Amazon transportation teams, small-business trucking company owners through the Amazon Freight Partner program, as well as in the broader transportation industry with leading employers like Werner Enterprises. More than a thousand graduates of the program have found job placements within the U.S. Amazon network as transportation associates, which supports our hiring and recruitment pipeline, and thousands more have landed roles with our third-party hiring partners or organizations outside of Amazon.
Upskilling and career mobility
The success of Career Choice’s truck-driving program is one of many examples of the impact education and skills training can have on the lives of employees by meeting them wherever they are on their journeys. Whether they’d like to start or continue earning their college degree, or gain a certification to make a complete career change into a new, higher-paying role, Career Choice offers a variety of education and skills training opportunities to meet their goals.
Through this approach, Amazon continues to actively shape a future where its employees are equipped to excel in a workforce that is changing faster than ever.
Learn about Career Choice and how the program provides unique opportunities such as our truck driver program and more for employees to build their careers.
