With the Canadian trucking industry still facing significant labour and gender gaps, some of the countryโs largest employers are stepping up by funding in-house upskilling and job training programs targeted to transportation and logistics. Amazon is just one example, and Career Choice โ its pre-paid education benefit โ is coming off its 10th anniversary with a strong track record of training employees โ including women โ for careers in the industry.
More than 8,000 frontline Amazon employees have participated in Career Choice since the program launched in Canada in 2014. Amazon pre-pays up to 95% of tuition and fees towards a certificate or diploma in qualified fields of study, in partnership with more than 20 leading educational institutions.
โAmazon is a great place to grow a long-term career, and Career Choice has a proud legacy of helping employees build new skills and explore new opportunities for career advancement,โ said Tammy Thieman, Global Program Director, Amazon Career Choice. โAs we mark 10 years of Career Choice in Canada, weโre also celebrating the programโs ability to bolster the Canadian labour force, particularly in industries facing labour and gender gaps.โ
Transportation is Amazonโs most popular Career Choice program in Canada, with more than half of total participants pursuing truck-driving training programs that unlock new career opportunities in supply chain and logistics.ย Career Choiceย offers a Commercial Driverโs License (CDL) course that teaches employees the skills needed to become truck drivers, including long-haul and freight drivers, in partnership with schools like Ancora Education.
The Canadian transportation industry is facing a significant labour shortage:ย according to Transport Canada, the country has projected a labour shortfall of between 25,000 to 55,600 trucking industry workers by 2023-2035.
Trucking also faces significant gender diversity gaps: according to 2021 Census data, women account for just over 4% of Canadaโs truck drivers. Programs like Amazon Career Choice have helped encourage more women to get their CDL while attracting new people to the industry.
Jaspreet Aujla has been working at Amazon in Calgary for almost four years. She completed her CDL training through Career Choice in May 2024, with the goal of a future promotion within Amazon’s transportation department. As one of only two female truck drivers at her site, the CDL training has helped Jaspreet become more confident and knowledgeable in her current role.
“Career Choice opened doors for me that I hadnโt considered before. Itโs not just about the job I have nowโitโs about the long-term career potential in transportation, whether thatโs with Amazon or beyond,โ she said. โMy family was so proud when I earned my commercial driverโs license. Being one of the few female truck drivers at my site has been empowering, and Iโm grateful for their encouragement every step of the way.”
Graduates of the Career Choice Transportation 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.ย Graduates are able to find new career opportunities both internally with Amazon transportation teams, small-business trucking company owners through theย Amazon Freight Partner program, as well as in the broader transportation industry.
To learn more about Amazon Career Choice, visit the program web site.
