Announcements & Appointments Learning & Development
Engen expanding into Canada via Amazon’s Career Choice Program

U.S.-based Engen is expanding into Canada via Amazon’s Career Choice Program. Its platform has been selected to deliver personalized, career-aligned English instruction to hourly Amazon employees in Canada, including immigrants and refugees, the company said in a press release.

Since its launch in 2020, EnGen has provided real-world, real-time English instruction to more than 40,000 U.S.-based learners, including thousands of Amazon Associates, promoting both English proficiency and career mobility.

“Immigrants, refugees, and speakers of other languages are a crucial and growing part of the workforce. Employers like Amazon know that expanding access to high quality, career-aligned English training can not only help to close skills gaps, it helps talented workers overcome long standing barriers and thrive in in-demand roles,” said Katie Brown, founder and chief education officer at EnGen. “Amazon’s Career Choice Program is pioneering an approach to upskilling that is smart for business, and a critical component of the economic mobility equation.”

EnGen is built on practices that support adult learners and workers. The personalized platform delivers content relevant to learners’ lives and livelihoods and is available on-demand via mobile phone or computer, the company said in a press release.

EnGen supports English proficiency, workforce readiness, and digital literacy simultaneously, equipping workers with skills to advance in high-demand careers and address the crisis-level staffing shortages impacting essential sectors in both the U.S. and Canada.

A recent analysis of EnGen learners showed that 92% have improved their English proficiency as a result of using the platform. After completing customized EnGen courses in Industry Safety, Customer Service, Warehousing, and more, Amazon associates have improved their English proficiency and made progress toward their career and personal goals, including promotions, access to industry certification programs, and educational opportunities.

Amazon associates have completed more than 450 unique learning modules in the EnGen platform, working on topics ranging from workplace writing skills to preparation for industry certifications. More than 90% of the Amazon associates who responded to EnGen’s most recent impact survey reported being more likely to remain with Amazon because English was offered as an employee benefit, it said.

Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their education journey through a variety of education and upskilling opportunities including full college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs.

In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.

Amazon’s Career Choice program has a rigorous selection process for third-party partner educators, choosing partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, assisting them with job placements, and overall offering education that leads to career success.

“Building on the success of our U.S. Career Choice partnership, we’re proud to offer EnGen as an education partner for Career Choice in Canada, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees,” said Tammy Thieman, global program lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program. “We’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere. We have intentionally cultivated a partner network of third-party educators and employers committed to providing excellent education, job placement resources, and continuous improvements to the experience. Today, over 110,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.”