The UK is experiencing a weak jobs market, with young people particularly affected by cuts in hospitality and graduate schemes.
One of those is Andy Wilkins, 26, in Southend on Sea in Essex, who has been out of work for nearly a year after leaving his last job.
The £2,000 he had saved up have been used up on “rising bills” and his income consists of £400 a month through Universal Credit.
The University of East London graduate has applied for entry level jobs at Lidl, Aldi, and Primark and has been turned down by the likes of Burger King, Superdrug, and Next.
“I am desperate to work, no job is too big or too small – I have that sort of mindset,” he says.
Yet, despite the problems faced by people like Andy, Boumphrey said Amazon has the opposite problem – it struggles to find enough workers with the skills the company needs.
The company has 100 premises in the UK, including 30 warehouses.
“I think you need businesses to come together with local governments and further education colleges, and you need that to happen on a regional basis so that you can understand what the skills gaps are,” he said.
Boumphrey said when Amazon introduced robots into its warehouses there was some concern they would replace people.
“Actually, the reverse happened…we ended up employing more people,” he said.
“Mechatronics engineers, people who can actually maintain the robots, people who are technicians…they’re not roles that exist. We can’t find enough people to fill those roles.”
Niki Fuchs, co-founder and chief executive of service office provider Office Space in Town, said providing work experience is a “mindset” and that there’s very little stopping firms from doing it.
She said she tells her staff and clients that she will give their teenage children work experience “without questioning it because we think that’s part of what we need to do for society”.
