Stories

Thu, 21 May 2026

Thu, 21 May 2026 Stop blaming young people for being unemployed, says Amazon's UK boss

John Boumphrey says the education system "isn't necessarily producing young people who are ready for work".

* Amazon's UK boss, John Boumphrey, says that record levels of young people out of work are not their fault but a system problem.
* Boumphrey claims that the education system is not producing young people with the skills employers need.
* Nearly 1 million young Britons are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
* Amazon struggles to recruit workers with the right skills, despite employing 75,000 people in the UK.
* Boumphrey calls for mandatory work experience for over-16s to help bridge the skills gap.
* He argues that this would be "transformative" and teach young people valuable skills such as teamwork and problem-solving.
* Amazon is experiencing the opposite problem of a weak jobs market, with many businesses struggling to find workers with the right skills.
* The company has introduced robots into its warehouses but says it has actually led to an increase in employment in areas such as mechatronics engineering and maintenance.
* Boumphrey defends Amazon's tax bill, saying that the company pays all the tax it is required to pay and also creates 75,000 jobs in the UK.
* The company is partnering with Project Search to deliver an internship programme for young adults, including those who were in care.