More than 8,000 Amazon employees in Canada have participated in the company’s Career Choice program since its launch in 2014, with transportation emerging as the most popular training choice.
While the program covers five broad fields of study: transportation, IT, mechanical systems, industrial systems, and other unspecified fields, transportation — specifically truck driving training — is the most popular offering in Canada.
Commercial driver’s licence (CDL) programs account for more than half of all enrollments, helping address the trucking industry’s labor shortage, including the low percentage of female drivers, said Tammy Thieman, global director of Amazon Career Choice. The program covers 95% of tuition and fees for certificates and diplomas in qualified fields, including transportation, to upskill its workers, with no strings attached.
“Historically, CDL has represented more than 50% of our total programming. I think last year we were upwards of around 60%,” Thieman said.
High completion, transition rates
Amazon’s CDL training program has been successful in preparing employees for careers in transportation. “Trucking, at least in Canada, has one of our strongest completion rates and one of our strongest transition rates,” Thieman said, explaining that graduates often move into driving positions, either within Amazon’s transportation division or elsewhere in the industry.
To ensure accessibility, Amazon partners with 20 educational institutions, including Ancora Education, Toronto Truck Driving School, and others.
Natalie Williams, vice-president of Ancora Education, said demand for CDL training in Canada and in the U.S. among Amazon employees continues to rise, particularly among women.
“We continue to see an increase in participation year over year,” Williams said. “While the numbers are still not equitable, if you will, from the population of male versus female that are entering into the field.”
As the trucking industry remains male-dominated, with women accounting for just 4% of commercial drivers in Canada — far behind the 13.7% representation in the U.S. — Thieman said she hopes the Career Choice program helps bring more women into the field. She cited one of the success stories — Jaspreet Aujla, who has been working at Amazon in Calgary for almost four years.
“My family was so proud when I earned my commercial driver’s licence. Being one of the few female truck drivers at my site has been empowering, and I’m grateful for their encouragement every step of the way,” said Aujla, who completed her truck driver training through the program in May 2024, with the goal of a future promotion within Amazon’s transportation department. She is now one of the only two female truck drivers at her site.
And while Aujla is one example of many, barriers remain for women entering trucking despite increased interest.
“Traditionally, the industry has been seen as a man’s job,” Williams observed, adding that more women are discovering that there are flexible scheduling options, regional driving jobs, and opportunities. Ancora employs female instructors and admissions representatives who help provide mentorship and share knowledge. “[They] can give [women] them some real-world experience that they’ve encountered working in the field, and how they’ve overcome some of the barriers to enter and remain in that field,” Williams said.
Williams added that work-life balance concerns have traditionally discouraged women from entering trucking, but many are unaware of the variety of careers available. Once you get into the transportation industry, there’s so much opportunity, she said. “There’s regional and local jobs as well. So they have a ton of support from Ancora and from Amazon, as it relates to being able to transition into the field.”
Job placements
While some graduates, like Aujla, remain at Amazon and aim to advance in the company, the program does not require employees to stay after completing their training.
“Somebody can come, stay with us for some time, they can gain some new skills, and then they may progress within Amazon,” Thieman said. “But they also may go to another company, and they can graduate on day one, and on day two, they can accept a role with another company, no strings attached.”
She added that even if employees leave, Amazon sees long-term benefits, “They may aspirationally want to come back to us at some point in the future, or…will probably be a customer for life, because Amazon was part of their career story.”
To help with job placement, Amazon works closely with its Freight Partner program, which connects CDL graduates with employment opportunities beyond Amazon’s own transportation division.
A win-win approach
Beyond individual career growth, Amazon sees its investment in employee training as a way to strengthen the industry.
“Our goal is really to help our employees achieve career success. And we know that there’s a real need in trucking. And so being able to put those two things meaningful [things] together, it just becomes, you know, a win-win for both, the communities in Canada that need truck drivers, as well as employees for us who are building careers and looking for opportunities to really grow as employees.” Thieman said.
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