Amazon is creating an apprenticeship program to train veterans for tech jobs

Amazon and the U.S. Department of Labor have signed an agreement to create a registered apprenticeship program to train veterans for tech jobs at the online retail giant, the DOL announced today. Through ApprenticeshipUSA, people can earn a salary while learning the skills needed for the job. This comes after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced last May the company’s goals to hire 25,000 veterans and spouses of military personnel over the next five years.

“We are pleased that Amazon is joining the remarkable group of forward-looking organizations that are pursuing innovations in apprenticeship for the 21st century,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Deputy Chris Lu said in a press release. “Partnerships like this one have reinvigorated our nation’s apprenticeship system, creating opportunity and pathways to prosperity for hundreds of thousands of Americans that will last for years to come.”

There are currently over 200 employers, colleges and labor organizations that have signed on to become part of the apprenticeship program. Amazon is one of the only major tech companies to create a registered apprenticeship program. Tesla Motors is listed as a company that offers registered apprenticeships, but that list does not include, for example, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

Last week in the U.K., Amazon announced a training program for IT skills called re:Start, in partnership with the UK’s Ministry of Defence, the Prince’s Trust and QA Consulting. It’s specifically geared toward job placement for young adults, and military vets and their spouses in the field of cloud computing.