MLS-C01 candidate - AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty (MLS-C01)

Amazon expanded the education and skills training benefits it offers to its U.S. employees with a total investment of $1.2 billion by 2025. Through its popular Career Choice program, the company now funds full college tuition, as well as high school diplomas, GEDs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency certifications for its front-line employees—including those who have been at the company for as little as three months. Amazon also offers three education programs to provide employees with the opportunity to learn skills within data center maintenance and technology, IT, and user experience and research design.
“Amazon is now the largest job creator in the U.S., and we know that investing in free skills training for our teams can have a huge impact for hundreds of thousands of families across the country,” said Dave Clark, former CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. “We launched Career Choice 10 years ago to help remove the biggest barriers to continuing education—time and money—and we are now expanding it even further to pay full tuition and add several new fields of study.
“This investment builds on years of experience supporting employees in growing their careers, including some unique initiatives like building more than 145 on-site classrooms for our employees in Amazon fulfillment centers across more than 35 states. Today, over 80,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.”
Amazon front-line employees now have access to even more education benefits through Career Choice:
“I worked in a warehouse setting for years but knew I wanted to help people and had been curious about healthcare. In just nine months, I became a certified clinical medical assistant while working at Amazon in Tracy, California, thanks to Career Choice,” said former Amazon operations employee and Career Choice graduate Patricia Soto. “A career in healthcare would have been difficult to obtain without tuition support from Amazon and an internship opportunity to apply my new skills.”
In addition to the expanded Career Choice benefits, Amazon also launched three upskilling programs—all tuition-free for participants—to provide even more career advancement opportunities for its employees:
AWS Grow Our Own Talent offers on-the-job training and job placement opportunities to Amazon employees and entry-level candidates with nontraditional backgrounds. The training helps them pursue roles to innovate within Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers and safely deliver high-quality cloud computing services to customers. Participating employees are hired into roles like data center technicians and operations technicians, and complete in-person, on-the-job training for up to six months.
Surge2IT is designed to help entry-level IT employees across Amazon’s operations network pursue careers in higher-paying technical roles through self-paced learning resources. The course helps employees develop the skills necessary to advance their career in the IT field, such as supporting the Amazon Robotics picking and stowing technology. Participants who complete the course and move up at Amazon can make an additional $10,000 a year.

The UXDR Apprenticeship program combines instructor-led training and real-world experience in a one-year program that offers employees the opportunity to learn and develop skills in research and design on teams across Amazon, including Prime Video, Alexa, AWS, and Amazon Fashion. Graduates are ready for jobs that help Excellerate the experience of Amazon customers, from making payments easier on Amazon sites to designing features that make devices more accessible.
“Today, there are not enough workers to fill every open job in the United States, which means that businesses are struggling to hire—especially for roles that require specific or technical skill sets,” said Cheryl Oldham, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation senior vice president. “When large employers like Amazon commit to investing in their people through upskilling programs, especially in technical fields, it helps to ensure that the business community has access to a workforce pipeline that meets their needs today and in the future. At the Chamber Foundation, we work with employers across the country to pursue solutions that ensure American workers have the right skills to best support and grow our economy and we applaud Amazon for the investment they’re making in the workforce.”

In 2020, Amazon announced Upskilling 2025, a $700 million commitment to train 100,000 U.S. employees by 2025 to help them transition into in-demand, higher-paying jobs. Since the launch of Upskilling 2025 in 2019, more than 70,000 employees have participated in one of Amazon’s nine upskilling programs. With the additional investment and expanded education benefits for employees, the company is more than tripling its original pledge—with plans to invest $1.2 billion in these programs and provide free skills training to 300,000 employees by 2025.
Amazon has seen a surge in applications to participate in education programs since the start of the pandemic, reflecting increased interest from employees to fortify their skillsets. Amazon Technical Academy, an upskilling program that helps Amazon employees from all backgrounds become software engineers in nine months, received thousands of applications, with interest increasing 798% over the past 12 months. To accommodate a surge in demand, Amazon scaled all of its upskilling programs, adapting to work-from-home schedules, and welcomed more participants by pivoting from in-person to virtual training. In addition to the new and expanded programs outlined above, Amazon employees have free access to the following skills training programs:
Amazon Technical Academy trains employees from across the company to become Amazon software engineers. The nine-month-long internal training program does not require a computer science background or a degree. Amazon Technical Academy has placed over 95% of its graduates into software development engineer roles within Amazon, with their salary and compensation packages increasing an average of 93% as a result. This year more than 52% of Amazon Technical Academy graduates came from Amazon’s operations network.

This program creates paths to technical jobs, primarily for veterans and military spouses looking to transition into technical professions. Amazon currently employs nearly 50,000 U.S. veterans and military spouses across multiple businesses and recently announced plans to hire 100,000 U.S. veterans and military spouses by 2024.
The AWS Training and Certifications program offers Amazon employees access to more than 500 free digital courses to build cloud computing knowledge. As part of this program, AWS TechU offers an accelerated 48-week career-development program that blends project-based learning and on-the-job training to help early-career employees in technical fields advance their skills.
A state-of-the-art training program curated and delivered by Amazon employees. It helps employees with a background in technology and coding gain graduate-level skills in machine learning and AI to solve customer problems.
Program participants learn the skills and technical knowledge needed to pursue a technical maintenance role supporting Amazon’s robotics technology. Hundreds of Amazon apprentices have earned over 5,000 certifications to date. Upon completion of their apprenticeship, participants could make an additional $16,000 on average each year in their new roles at Amazon.
Explore Amazon’s full roster of education and skills training programs.
Amazon’s investment in free access to education programs for employees comes as the first-ever Amazon-Gallup American Upskilling Study shows how access to skills training can help companies recruit more workers and help workers build skills for rewarding careers. The analysis found that U.S. workers who completed upskilling programs over the past year have seen an average salary increase of 8.6%—the equivalent of an additional $8,000 in their annual earnings.
The expectation of this salary boost, along with new skills that will help employees move into more technical and resilient industries, have made access to upskilling opportunities one of the most sought-after employee benefits by American workers right now. Currently, 70% of workers interested in upskilling say they would switch to a new job if offered free skills training. For young adults entering the labor market, employer-funded upskilling is more important than paid vacation time.
Access the full findings of the new Amazon-Gallup study.

source

You’re trying to get back into reading, but when you head to the bookstore, you’re hit with a bit of sticker shock. The average cost of a novel is between $13.95 and $17.95. Even more for a hardcover. If you pick up a few books in one shopping trip, you could easily spend $100 — and you don’t even know if you’ll like them!

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The good news is there are plenty of ways to get free books, so you can save your cash. Here are some of the best ways to score your next read, free of charge.

Hit Up the Library

There are more than 17,000 public libraries in the United States. Whether it be the physical book or a digital copy, surely one of the country’s many libraries has a book you’d love reading. All you have to do is get a library card. As long as you return the book on time, there’s no cash required.

“The beauty of our digital age is that it has democratized access to knowledge, including books. Public libraries are a great way to start with free access to physical and digital books,” says Chad Willardson, founder and certified financial fiduciary at Pacific Capital.

If you’re looking for a specific book, chances are if your closest branch doesn’t have it, another one does. “Even if they don’t have the book you’re looking for, they can likely get it for you from another branch,” says Derek Sall, founder and lead at Life And My Finances.

Personal Finance: 10 Best Books on Investing for 2023

Check Out Library Apps

If you don’t want to go to the library, you don’t have to, thanks to apps that make it easy to browse books, audiobooks, e-books and more. “Many libraries have apps now where you can check out free e-books and audiobooks. My local branch has Hoopla. Others I have heard of are Libby and Open Library,” Sall says.

For Hoopla, you’ll need to have a library card and an email address to register. Libby is an app, which you’ll also need a library card to access. With Open Library, you don’t have to have a library card to access their books. You can just create a free account on the website and “borrow” books for free.

Keep an Eye Out for Free E-books

Just because you can’t hold it in your hand doesn’t mean it’s not a book. Sites like BookBub let you search for a title and show you where you can get the e-book version of it for free. You can also look for free e-books on Amazon, Apple Books, Google and Kobo.

Join Trading Sites

Sall says there’s an opportunity to trade books with other readers online, using sites like BookMooch and PaperBackSwap. BookMooch lets you list books you don’t want anymore, then when you mail them to people who want them, you receive points. You can ask others for books with your points. PaperBackSwap works similarly, except you don’t need points to request books.

Give Reviews

Your opinion is extremely valuable, and might even be worth an entire book! Sites like NetGalley distribute advance copies to reviewers in exchange for a book review.

Although anyone can request these advance reader copies, or ARCs, you’re less likely to receive one if you don’t already have a platform for book reviews. Starting an Instagram, Twitter or TikTok account and regularly posting book reviews makes you a better candidate to receive ARCs. The higher following you have, the more likely a publisher will be to send you ARCs.

Keep in mind that hard copies of ARCs are limited, so if you’re fine with e-books you’ll have a better chance at scoring those. Another factor on sites like NetGalley is your feedback ratio — that’s the percentage of books you deliver feedback on. If you receive a bunch of books and only review a few, for example, you will have a very poor feedback ratio and publishers won’t trust you to review their books. One way to help boost your ratio is to only request books you know you’ll read.

Look For Little Free Libraries

Next time you’re looking for something to read, take a walk in your neighborhood. You’ll likely find many Little Free Libraries.

“You can borrow books or perhaps exchange one of your books for one in the case,” Sall says. You can check out the Little Free Library website to find locations. If there aren’t any nearby, don’t worry. There are probably plenty of people in your area that would be willing to exchange books with you. “You could also swap in your community by joining book swaps and book clubs,” Willardson adds.

Stop at Garage Sales

Your neighbor’s sales might have your next favorite book, and you might not have to pay for it. “Head around to your local garage sales late in the day. People really don’t want to lug a bunch of stuff back into their houses — especially heavy books. First, ask if they’d be willing to let some of them go for free. At worst, you’ll have to pay a few cents for them,” Sall says.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Ways To Get Free Books

MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Dozens of top companies will be interviewing prospective employees at a job fair that is taking place in Miramar.

The Miramar Job and Career Fair is being held Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Miramar Cultural Center, located at 2400 Civic Place.

Among the more than 50 companies that will be on hand seeking applicants are Amazon, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Spirit Airlines, Sam’s Club and Tropical Financial Credit Union.

People looking to join the Miramar Police Department will also be able to apply at the fair.

The event, which is being hosted by Miramar Vice Mayor Alexandra P. Davis and sponsored by WSVN and CareerSource Broward, will also feature workshops and career counseling.

“Whether they’re underemployed, unemployed, seeking a career change, whatever it is, they can find it right here in the City of Miramar today at our job fair,” Davis said.

Some of the companies will also be giving opportunities to veterans and seniors looking for part-time employment, as well as people with special needs.

Paid internship positions will also be available through the Waste Pro Apprenticeship Program for people between the ages of 18 and 26.

Organizers encourage applicants to have an updated copy of their résumés ready and be prepared for one-on-one interviews.

7’s own Franklin White was among the speakers at the event.

For more information and to register, click here.

Copyright 2023 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

“I've been working for Amazon for six years. I started as a level one associate and now I've worked my way up to a level three associate and that’s really good representation,” said Lacey Denis, a process assistant at the company and one of the deaf associates at the expo. She’s Canada’s first deaf process assistant at Amazon.

“People look at me and I'm proving that deaf individuals can be successful at Amazon. I also really enjoy working here because there's such a variety of deaf associates and you'll find that there's a real sense of family working together at Amazon.”

One in five employers are unlikely to hire an employee with known disabilities, according to a previous report.

Having deaf associates share their personal experiences is a key move in recruiting workers with disabilities, said Paul Isaac, HR director for North America -Canada Fulfillment at Amazon, in talking with HRD Canada.

“That's the message that we wanted to get out to the market: ‘We’re open, we want to employ you, and you can bring your full self to work and we have several mechanisms in place to help accommodate anything that may be needed.’”

• Database technology is crucial in multiple applications and computing tasks, and certifications help demonstrate job readiness and core competencies. 
• Before pursuing a database platform certification, you should have a solid background in relational database management systems and the SQL language. 
• Valuable certifications are typically tied to specific technology companies and their platforms, such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP.
• This article is for IT professionals considering database certifications to further their careers. 

While database platforms have come and gone through the decades, database technology is still critical for multiple applications and computing tasks. IT professionals often seek database certifications to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise as they navigate their career paths and pursue professional growth. 

While database certifications may not be as bleeding edge as Google cloud certifications, cybersecurity certifications, storage certifications or digital forensics certifications, database professionals at all levels possess in-demand career skills — and a plethora of database-related jobs are waiting to be filled.

We’ll look at some of the most in-demand certifications for database administrators, database developers and anyone else who works with databases.

What to know about database roles and certifications

To get a better grasp of available database certifications, it’s helpful to group these certs around job responsibilities. This reflects the maturity of database technology and its integration into most aspects of commercial, scientific and academic computing. As you read about the various database certification programs, keep these job roles in mind: 

• Database administrator (DBA). A DBA is responsible for installing, configuring and maintaining a database management system (DBMS). The job is often tied to a specific platform, such as Oracle, MySQL, DB2 or SQL Server.
• Database developer. A database developer works with generic and proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs) to build applications that interact with a DBMS. Like DBA roles, database developer positions are also often platform-specific.
• Database designer or database architect. A database designer or architect researches data requirements for specific applications or users and designs database structures and application capabilities to match.
• Data analyst or data scientist. A data analyst or scientist is responsible for analyzing data from multiple disparate sources to discover previously hidden insights, determine the meaning behind data, and make business-specific recommendations.
• Data mining or business intelligence (BI) specialist. A data mining or BI specialist focuses on dissecting, analyzing and reporting important data streams, such as customer, supply chain and transaction data and histories.
• Data warehousing specialist. A data warehousing specialist assembles and analyzes data from multiple operational systems (such as orders, transactions, supply chain information and customer data) to establish data history, analyze trends, generate reports and forecasts, and support general ad hoc queries. 

These database job roles highlight two critical issues to consider if you want to be a database professional:

1. You need a solid general background. First, a background in relational database management systems, including an understanding of Structured Query Language (SQL), is a fundamental prerequisite for database professionals of all stripes. 
2. There’s a focus on proprietary technologies. Second, although various efforts to standardize database technology exist, much of the whiz-bang capability that databases and database applications deliver comes from proprietary, vendor-specific technologies. Serious, heavy-duty database skills and knowledge are tied to specific platforms, including various Oracle products (such as the open-source MySQL environment and Oracle itself,) Microsoft SQL Server and IBM DB2. Most of these certifications relate directly to those enormously popular platforms. 

Best database certifications

Here are details on our five best database certification picks for 2023.

1. IBM Certified Database Administrator — DB2 12

IBM is one of the leaders in the worldwide database market by any objective measure. The company’s database portfolio includes industry-standard DB2, as well as the following:

• IBM Compose
• Information Management System (IMS)
• Informix
• Cloudant
• IBM Open Platform with Apache Hadoop

IBM also has a long-standing and well-populated IT certification program that has been around for more than 30 years and encompasses hundreds of individual credentials. 

After redesigning its certification programs and categories, IBM now has a primary data-centric certification category called IBM Data and AI. It includes a range of database credentials: 

• Database Associate
• Database Administrator
• System Administrator
• Application Developer 

IBM’s is a big and complex certification space, but one where particular platform allegiances are likely to guide readers toward the handful of items most relevant to their interests and needs. 

Database professionals who support DB2 (or aspire to) on IBM’s z/OS should check out the IBM Associate Certified DBA — Db2 12 certification. It’s an entry-level exam that addresses routine planning, working with SQL and XML, security, operations, data concurrency, application design, and concepts around database objects.

This certification requires candidates to pass one exam. Pre-exam training and familiarity with concepts, or hands-on experience, are recommended but not required. 

IBM Certified Database Administrator — DB2 facts and figures

Did you know? IBM’s certification offerings are among the best system administrator certifications IT professionals can achieve.

2. Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure offers a broad range of tools and add-ons for business intelligence. Azure is a cloud computing platform for application management and Microsoft-managed data centers. Microsoft certifications include various Azure offerings based on job role and experience level.

Microsoft’s certification program is role-centric, centered on the skills you need to succeed in specific technology jobs. Because Azure has such a broad scope, Azure certifications span multiple job roles. However, specific certifications exist for the following positions:

• Data Analysts
• Data Engineers
• Data Scientists
• Database Administrators 

There are also certifications for learners at different experience levels. 

For those looking to take their Azure knowledge to the next level, the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals certification is the perfect place to start. This certification is for beginner database administrators interested in using Azure and mastering data in the cloud. It offers foundational knowledge of core concepts while reinforcing concepts for later use in other Azure role-based certifications, such as those listed below: 

• Azure Database Administrator Associate
• Azure Data Engineer Associate
• Data Analyst Associate 

Azure Data Fundamentals certification facts and figures

3. Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator 

Oracle runs its certifications under the auspices of Oracle University. The Oracle Database Certifications page lists separate tracks depending on job role and product. MySQL is perhaps the leading open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Since acquiring Sun Microsystems in 2010 (which had previously acquired MySQL AB), Oracle has rolled out a paid version of MySQL and developed certifications to support the product. 

If you’re interested in pursuing an Oracle MySQL certification, you can choose between MySQL Database Administration and MySQL Developer. 

The Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator (OCP) credential recognizes professionals who can accomplish the following tasks:

• Install, optimize and monitor MySQL Server.
• Configure replication.
• Apply security.
• Schedule and validate database backups. 

The certification requires candidates to pass a single exam (the same exam can be taken to upgrade a prior certification). Oracle recommends training and on-the-job experience before taking the exam.

Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator facts and figures

Did you know? According to Oracle, approximately 1.8 million Oracle Certified professionals globally hold certifications to advance their networking careers and professions to validate their IT expertise. 

4. Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate Certification

For individuals interested in working in the Oracle environment who have the necessary experience to become a database administrator, Oracle’s Database SQL Certified Associate Certification is another top Oracle certification and an excellent starting point. This exam encompasses an understanding of fundamental SQL concepts that individuals must grasp for database projects. 

By earning the certification, individuals demonstrate that they have a range of knowledge in core SQL concepts:

• Familiarity with queries, data modeling, and normalization
• Strong base understanding of the underlying SQL language
• An ability to create and manipulate Oracle Database tables 

This certification also requires candidates to pass a single exam. While Oracle does not specify any prerequisites, the company does state candidates should have familiarity working with the command line. 

Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate Certification facts and figures

5. SAP HANA: SAP Certified Technology Associate — SAP HANA 2.0 SPS05

SAP SE has an extensive portfolio of business applications and analytics software, including cloud infrastructure, applications and storage. The SAP HANA platform’s foundation is an enterprise-grade relational database management system that can be run as an appliance on-premises or in the cloud. The cloud platform lets customers build and run applications and services based on SAP HANA. 

SAP offers a comprehensive certification program built to support its various platforms and products. We’re featuring the SAP Certified Technology Associate — SAP HANA cert because it aligns closely with other certifications we’ve highlighted and is in high demand among employers, according to job board surveys. 

This certification ensures database professionals can install, manage, monitor, migrate and troubleshoot SAP HANA systems. It covers the following skills:

• Managing users and authorizations
• Applying security
• Ensuring high availability 
• Effective disaster-recovery techniques 

SAP recommends that certification candidates get hands-on practice through formal training or on-the-job experience before attempting this exam. The SAP Learning Hub is a subscription service that gives certification candidates access to a library of learning materials, including e-learning courses and course handbooks. 

The annual subscription rate for individual users on the Professional certification track is $2,760. This online training program is designed for those who run, support, or implement SAP software solutions. Though this may seem like a steep price for online training, you will likely be able to pass any SAP certification exams you put your mind to by leveraging all the learning resources available to SAP Learning Hub Professional subscribers. 

Typically, SAP certifications achieved on one of the two most recent SAP solutions are considered current and valid. SAP contacts professionals whose certifications are nearing end-of-life status and provides information on maintaining their credentials.

SAP Certified Technology Associate facts and figures

Tip: To broaden your skill set, consider pursuing the best sales certifications to better sell and implement various IT solutions, including databases.

Beyond the top 5 database certifications

Additional database certification programs can further the careers of IT professionals who work with database management systems. 

While most colleges with computer science programs offer database tracks at the undergraduate, master and Ph.D. levels, well-known vendor-neutral database certifications exist, including the following: 

• ICCP certifications. The Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) offers its unique Certified Data Professional and Certified Data Scientist credentials. Learn more about ICCP certifications from the ICCP website.
• Enterprise DB certifications. EnterpriseDB administers a small but effective certification program with two primary certs: the EDB Certified Associate and the EDB Certified Professional. 

These are some additional certifications: 

These credentials represent opportunities for database professionals to expand their skill sets — and salaries. However, such niches in the database certification arena are generally only worth pursuing if you already work with these platforms or plan to work for an organization that uses them.

Key takeaway: Pursuing additional database certifications can be helpful for professional development if you already work with these platforms or plan to work with them in the future. 

Job board search results

Before pursuing certifications, consider their popularity with employers to gain a helpful perspective on current database certification demand. Here’s a job board snapshot to deliver you an idea of what’s trending.

If the sheer number of available database-related positions isn’t enough motivation to pursue a certification, consider average salaries for database administrators. SimplyHired reports $91,949 as the national average in the U.S., ranging from $64,171 to over $131,753. Glassdoor’s reported average is somewhat lower at $84,161, with a top rung for experienced senior DBAs right around $134,000.

Choosing the right certification

Choosing the best IT certifications to enhance your skills and boost your career can be overwhelming, especially as many available certifications are for proprietary technologies. While picking a database certification can feel like locking yourself into a single technology family, it is worth remembering that many database skills are transferable. Additionally, pursuing any certification shows your willingness to learn and demonstrates competence to current and future employers. 

Ultimately, choosing which certification to pursue depends on the technologies you use at work or would like to use at a future employer.

Jeremy Bender contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. 

SEATTLE (AP) — Telling executives to “strive harder,” hundreds of corporate Amazon workers protested what they decried as the company’s lack of progress on climate goals and an inequitable return-to-office mandate during a lunchtime demonstration at its Seattle headquarters Wednesday.

The protest came a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect returning workers to the office three days per week. Previously, team leaders were allowed to determine how their charges worked.

The employees chanted their disappointment with the pace of the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint — “Emissions climbing, time to act” — and urged Amazon to return authority to team leaders when it comes to work location.

Wearing a black pirate hat and red coat, Church Hindley, a quality assurance engineer, said working from home allowed him to live a better, healthier life.

“I’m out here because I refuse to just sit idly by while mandates are dictated from above down that don’t make sense and hurt the planet, hurt families and individual lives,” Hindley said. “And just to get us into a seat at the office for their tax incentives.”

In a statement, Amazon said it supported workers expressing opinions.

As of Wednesday morning, organizers estimated more than 1,900 employees pledged to walk out around the world, with about 900 in Seattle. Many participated remotely, but hundreds gathered at the Amazon Spheres — a four-story structure in downtown Seattle that from the outside looks like three connected glass orbs.

“Today looks like it might be the start of a new chapter in Amazon’s history, when tech workers coming out of the pandemic stood up and said, ‘We still want a say in this company and the direction of this company,’” said Eliza Pan, a former Amazon corporate employee and a co-founder of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a climate change advocacy group founded by Amazon workers.

Amazon, which relies on fossil fuels to power the planes, trucks and vans that ship packages all over the world, has an enormous carbon footprint. Amazon workers have been vocal in criticizing some of the company’s practices.

In an annual statement to investors, Amazon said it aims to deploy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon by 2040. But activists say the company must do more and commit to zero emissions by 2030.

“While we all would like to get there tomorrow, for companies like ours who consume a lot of power, and have very substantial transportation, packaging, and physical building assets, it’ll take time to accomplish,” Brad Glasser, an Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement.

Since more employees returned to the office, Glasser said, there has also been a good energy on the company’s South Lake Union campus and at its other urban centers. More than 20,000 workers, however, signed a petition urging Amazon to reconsider the return-to-office mandate.

In a February memo, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company made its decision to return corporate employees to the office at least three days a week after observing what worked during the pandemic. Among other things, he said senior leadership watched how staff performed and talked to leaders at other companies. He said they concluded employees tended to be more engaged in person and collaborate more easily.

In a note asking Amazon employees to pledge their participation in the walkout, organizers said the company “must return autonomy to its teams, who know their employees and customers best, to make the best decision on remote, in-person, or hybrid work, and to its employees to choose a team which enables them to work the way they work best.”

Pamela Hayter, a project manager at Amazon, started an internal Slack channel called “Remote Advocacy” after the company announced its return-to-office policy. Its 33,000 members share stories about how the return-to-office policy impacted their lives.

“I cannot believe that a company in this day and age, a company that claims to be an innovative leader in its space, would do that to one of its most precious resources — its employees,” Hayter said during the protest in Seattle, drawing applause from the crowd.

The walkout follows widespread cost-cutting at Amazon, where layoffs have affected workers in advertising, human resources, gaming, stores, devices and Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing division.

Like other tech companies, including Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet, Amazon ramped up hiring during the pandemic to meet the demand from homebound Americans who were increasingly shopping online to keep themselves safe from the virus.

Amazon’s workforce, in warehouses and offices, doubled to more than 1.6 million in about two years. But demand slowed as the worst of the pandemic eased. The company last year began pausing or canceling warehouse expansion plans and has cut 27,000 jobs since November.

 Last week, Amazon was awarded the ISO/IEC 27001 certification for Amazon Web Services, AWS.  The certification is significant in that ISO 27001 mandates specific management controls and requirements to be in place.  While the certification is not cloud specific it is a significant progression and commitment towards governance, risk and compliance in the industry.  This signals a maturation of the Amazon public cloud beyond its competitors and clears hurdles many CIOs would feel are barriers of adoption for enterprise acceptance of public cloud computing in general.

ISO/IEC 27001 certification is a three stage audit process:

Stage 1 - a review of the information security management system, ISMS, which is a set of policies governing information security and IT risk management.

Stage 2 - a detailed and formal compliance audit performed by independent auditors against ISO/IEC 27001.  Passing this stage grants compliance with ISO/IEC 27001.

Stage 3 - maintenance stage consisting of follow-up reviews or audits which occur periodically to confirm compliance with ISO/IEC 27001.  Typically the frequency is annually, but may occur more often if the ISMS is in flux. 

On why the team did not pursue ISO/IEC 27002 certification at the same time, from the AWS site: 

We don’t disclose every control we have in place, but of course we did consider all relevant guidance documented in 27002 as applicable to our scope covering AWS infrastructure, data centers, and services including EC2, S3, and VPC. As part of the certification process our auditors validated that we addressed all aspects of the 27002 guidance appropriate for our systems and services.

Amazon is not the first cloud vendor to achieve this certification, as Salesforce.com has been ISO 27001 certified for some time and Microsoft is actively pursuing ISO 27000 family of certifications for its Business Productivity Online Suite.  It is unclear of what value this certification brings to the table, but at a minimum it provides a security standard by which to judge competing platforms as IT compares the ISMS of a vendor.

A Fells Point-based nationwide nonprofit will offer certifications in CompTIA A+ and becoming an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Cloud Practitioner via its upcoming hybrid course — and do so for free to residents of Baltimore City and several surrounding counties.

As a tuition-free tech training program, Per Scholas Baltimore aims to increase tech sector diversity by providing technical training opportunities to underrepresented adult learners. recent data shows gradual improvements in Black hires, and reports like the 21st Century Cities Initiative and UpSurge Baltimore’s “Diversity 2023” show that Baltimore exhibited a comparatively higher level of diversity among tech startups. Despite these positive developments, still considerable progress remains to foster diversity within the industry.

In 2022, Per Scholas Baltimore hit another milestone by being distinguished as a Bank of America Neighborhood Builder. Building on its prior accomplishments, Per Scholas has garnered recognition and financial support from entities like Comcast, which recently sat down with Per Scholas Baltimore Managing Director Jessica Diaz Council to discuss building a diverse tech workforce. Ascendium Education Group, Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle and Grads2Careers count themselves as Per Scholas funders.

L to R: Jarrod Wilson, Jessica Diaz Council and Charee L. Grover of Per Scholas’ Baltimore team (Courtesy images)

Per Scholas leadership recently discussed upcoming application deadlines, the organization’s local partnerships, the importance of LinkedIn mock interviews and inspiring success stories with Technical.ly. This Q&A, conducted via email with responses attributed to the three leaders in the photo above, has been edited for length and clarity.

How does Per Scholas use partnerships to foster a sense of belonging for those entering tech?

By providing resources for obtaining professional attire, we establish a standard for workforce readiness. Our partnerships with Sharp Dressed Man Baltimore and Success in Style help us to emphasize professionalism in dress and create a sense of belonging in the tech industry for our learners. Imposter syndrome is a persistent challenge that our trainees face, and to address this, we introduce them to the aforementioned organizations early on through events like our headshot lounge. We believe that our approach ensures that all learners are better prepared for post-graduation employment opportunities.

What’s a headshot lounge and how does it support learners?

We know that the demand for qualified tech talent is high and talent sourcing approaches have changed post-pandemic. Recruiters are actively searching for a candidate on LinkedIn. During Per Scholas Baltimore programming, we provide learners with a free professional headshot photoshoot in partnership with a Baltimore area storytelling company, GoodLight.Media.

A Per Scholas learner participating in a headshot lounge. (Courtesy photo)

How else do you help participants present themselves on LinkedIn?

For every learner, whether hybrid or fully remote, creating a LinkedIn profile is one of the first steps in Per Scholas Baltimore programming as we believe LinkedIn is the go-to digital network for professionals. On a weekly basis, we spend time cultivating our learners’ LinkedIn pages and sharing best practices. We empower learners to envision themselves as future technologists by connecting them to Per Scholas Baltimore graduates, our LinkedIn alumni group and, of course, uploading their new headshots.

In what ways does the virtual mock interview program contribute to learners’ skill development, confidence-building and overall professional growth?

In tandem with new headshots and a well-curated LinkedIn page, in-person and virtual mock interviews are a learning opportunity for Per Scholas Baltimore attendees. In mock interviews, our learners develop interview strategies, enhance communication skills and practice answering challenging questions. We believe that it helps to ease some of the nerves that many of our learners might experience before a job interview. In 2023, we hosted mock interviews in partnership with Percent Pledge, who scouted hiring managers to meet one-on-one with our learners. The feedback that the learners received from the hiring managers was invaluable and it was clear to the Per Scholas Baltimore team that it boosted the confidence of our learners. The mock interviews created a feedback loop and enabled our learners to start building a networking pipeline.

Can you share a success story of an individual who has completed the training programs in 2022 or 2023?

LaLonnie Moseley, a former early childhood educator, found herself unemployed during the pandemic and sought a career change in the tech industry. She enrolled in Per Scholas Baltimore’s IT Support course and was deeply impressed by the comprehensive and supportive learning experience. Despite facing emergency surgery, LaLonnie received unwavering support from the program’s staff and successfully graduated on time with certifications.

“When I reached out to the administration telling them I didn’t think I could continue, the teachers both reached out to me and assured me that I would graduate,” LaLonnie shared. She often describes the staff as her second family and expresses gratitude for Per Scholas’ holistic support.

“I’m so grateful for Per Scholas’ holistic support,” she emphasized.

Currently, LaLonnie is working closely with Per Scholas to prepare for job interviews and eagerly anticipates securing her first tech job. Looking ahead, she aspires to open a childcare center that combines education with a focus on technical awareness.

Per Scholas Baltimore virtual mock interviews with Percent Pledge. (Courtesy screenshot)

What should prospective learners know about Per Scholas and the programs offered?

Per Scholas training is always 100% tuition-free. We are always accepting applications. The last day to apply for any course at Per Scholas Baltimore is typically three weeks before the course start date. For our End User Desktop and IT Support courses, no previous IT experience is required. Individuals should have a passion for tech. The last day to apply for these courses is two weeks before the course start date. For Per Scholas Baltimore, AWS re/Start and Software Engineering courses are mid-level courses. Applicants must have at least some technical experience, which can be quantified as work experience, participating in a previous IT course or having earned an industry-standard IT certification.

Learn about available courses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon will pay more than $30 million to settle alleged privacy violations involving its voice assistant Alexa and its doorbell camera Ring.

The Federal Trade Commission voted to file charges in two separate cases Wednesday that could also force the company to delete certain data collected by its popular internet-connected devices.

In the Alexa case, the FTC said Amazon had deceived users of the voice assistance service for years. It retained children’s recordings indefinitely unless a parent requested the information be deleted, the agency said, and even when it deleted those recordings, Amazon often kept the transcripts.

The FTC ordered the company to delete inactive child accounts as well as certain voice information and geolocation data.

In imposing a $25 million fine, the agency said Amazon had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and FTC Consumer Protection Chief Samuel Levine accused the tech giant of sacrificing “privacy for profits” in “flouting parents’ deletion requests.”

FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said Amazon kept kids’ data indefinitely to refine its voice recognition algorithm. In a separate statement, he said the Alexa ruling sends a message to all tech companies who are “sprinting to do the same” amid fierce competition in developing AI datasets.

“Nothing is more visceral to a parent than the sound of their child’s voice,” tweeted Bedoya, the father of two small children.

In the Ring case, the FTC accuses Amazon’s home security camera subsidiary of allowing its employees and contractors to access the private videos of consumers and providing lax security practices that enabled hackers to take control of some accounts.

Amazon bought California-based Ring in 2018, and many of the violations cited by the FTC predate the acquisition. The FTC’s order would require Ring to pay $5.8 million that would be used for consumer refunds.

Amazon said it disagreed with the FTC’s claims about the two devices and denied violating the law. But it said the settlements “put these matters behind us.”

“Our devices and services are built to protect customers’ privacy, and to provide customers with control over their experience,” the Seattle-based company said.

The proposed orders must be approved by federal judges.

FTC commissioners unanimously voted to file the charges against Amazon in both cases. In addition to the fine in the Alexa case, the proposed order prohibits Amazon from using deleted geolocation and voice information to create or Excellerate any data product. The order also requires Amazon to create a privacy program for its use of geolocation information.