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Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

nytimes.com

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Re: Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

#21

Post by drdeadringer »

mdorazio wrote: post #9

It kind of bothers me that there's always an assumption on HN that we need to retrain people into coders instead of any one of the hundreds of other jobs in high demand. You'd probably have a lot better results retraining warehouse workers into plumbers, electricians, and HVAC installers, for example. Or on the corporate side, QA testers, entry level IT support, etc.

> QA testers

I am one of these folks. Sometimes I have received stigma about being so. "Oh, get out of that" is one direct quote, and through an expression of disgust.

I still don't know why. You want your widget to explode? Just not turn on? Fail after three days? Shall I tell you just how many dud brand-new flash drives I've tossed over the past 6 days alone for -- I guess -- giggles and jollies and I should just smile and like it? That's what I'd like to "get out of".

Re: Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

#22

Post by ardy42 »

super-serial wrote: post #2

I wonder what the success rate is for their retraining program to turn factory workers into coders. When watching Andrew Yang's Presidential pitch for UBI he said most government retraining programs only have a success rate of 17%.

> I wonder what the success rate is for their retraining program to turn factory workers into coders.

Probably about 0% for their warehouse workers: they're so exhausted by the end of their shifts that they won't have the energy to learn, and their most at risk of losing their jobs to automation.

This is a feel-good announcement that will likely do little good without other management changes that Amazon is probably loathe to make.

Re: Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

#23

Post by mdorazio »

martinpw wrote: post #19
mdorazio wrote: post #9

It kind of bothers me that there's always an assumption on HN that we need to retrain people into coders instead of any one of the hundreds of other jobs in high demand. You'd probably have a lot better results retraining warehouse workers into plumbers, electricians, and HVAC installers, for example. Or on the corporate side, QA testers, entry level IT support, etc.

It is not just coding. This WSJ article has some more detail: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-to-retrain-a-third-of-it... eg The training programs could help Amazon workers find jobs in different industries, the company said. It is expanding a program for fulfillment-center employees called Amazon Career Choice that pays 95% of tuition and fees for certificates and degrees in high-demand fields such as nursing an…

Thanks. I missed that part in the article.

Re: Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

#25

Post by pkaye »

My first job out of school 25 years ago they were big on further education and training. You actually had in your yearly objectives that you complete atleast 10 days of training. There was a dedicated campus for this purpose. And these were indepth courses that would spend 5 full days on some skills. I don't see that kind of thing any more and miss it.

Re: Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

#28

Post by martinpw »

Amazon revenue in 2018 grew 30% over 2017, but headcount grew only 15%, which is quite an increase in efficiency per employee. That doesn't really make the headlines since there is still overall headcount growth.

As they get larger it is harder to grow revenue that fast percentage-wise. If revenue growth rates drop below ~15%, and that rate of efficiency gains continue, then it would lead to net headcount reductions, which will likely generate much less positive press. So this seems like a good way to get ahead of that soon to be upcoming bad press. Whether it is just PR spin or a genuine effort to mitigate this is I guess open for debate.

Re: Amazon’s Latest Experiment: Retraining Its Work Force

#29

Post by sheeshkebab »

drdeadringer wrote: post #21
mdorazio wrote: post #9

It kind of bothers me that there's always an assumption on HN that we need to retrain people into coders instead of any one of the hundreds of other jobs in high demand. You'd probably have a lot better results retraining warehouse workers into plumbers, electricians, and HVAC installers, for example. Or on the corporate side, QA testers, entry level IT support, etc.

> QA testers I am one of these folks. Sometimes I have received stigma about being so. "Oh, get out of that" is one direct quote, and through an expression of disgust. I still don't know why. You want your widget to explode? Just not turn on? Fail after three days? Shall I tell you just how many dud brand-new flash drives I've tossed over the past 6 days alone for -- I guess -- giggles and jollies and I should just s…

We do exploratory tests these days - since value of individual users is just slightly above 0, quality is not exactly high on the radar, in most consumer oriented companies anyway...
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