A trip to the world-famous Space Needle, lunch in Pike Place Market and a visit to the Museum of Pop Culture are just three of the experiences enjoyed by Jade Winship from Swansea after she had a once in a lifetime trip to the US.
Jade, who works at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Swansea, took part in the week-long trip with 17 Amazon colleagues from across the UK and Ireland as part of a programme called I Found the Right Place.
I Found the Right Place is open to Amazon employees in the UK and Ireland and asks the simple question – ‘what makes Amazon the right place for you?’. Employees are invited to talk about why they love working at Amazon and the best stories are selected by a judging panel, with the finalists taking delivery of a boarding pass for the trip of a lifetime.
More than 2,000 Amazon employees submitted their story as part of the campaign and Jade was selected by the judges as one of 18 people who boarded the plane to Seattle.
Jade and her colleagues toured Amazon’s global headquarters, saw the latest Amazon technology during a fulfilment centre tour and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city’s Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture and more.
Jade Winship works in the stow department at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Swansea. After graduating in 2018 with a degree in Aviation and Airport Management, she spoke about how finding her place in the professional world seemed rather daunting.
“Finding a job was really stressful for me because I have quite bad anxiety, and I kind of felt like maybe the working world wasn't for me,” Jade explained.
It was her older sister Holly who first mentioned Amazon.
“She said ‘no, you're going to come with me to work at Amazon,’ so we started together in stow. That made it much easier for me.
“Since I had started with her, I was comfortable and felt like ‘okay, I can do this.' Unfortunately, my temporary contract ended, but I was brought back again during COVID, and really I haven’t looked back since.”
When Jade was selected for the I Found the Right Place programme, the news came as a complete shock.
“I got called into the office and they were like ‘Jade, you've done something bad,’ and then they were like ‘you've won.’ I've never been to America and I certainly never thought I would win out of everybody that entered, so it was very exciting.”
The trip to Seattle opened her eyes to Amazon's broader mission, particularly around tech and sustainability.
“One of the highlights was visiting the robotics site BFI4, getting to see all the cool new things they’re working on. I really like the sustainability side of things, so I also enjoyed talking about packaging, and how they’re re-designing it. Amazon are now working with brands to reimagine packaging to make it more sustainable and environmentally friendly, but also more protected by making some of the boxes inside out.
“The Space Needle was incredible, but the headquarters was this huge campus with seven or eight buildings, completely different to where I work. It was lots of office buildings – I would've loved to stay and learn more about the job roles people have there. I also liked the fact that there were free bananas outside.”
For someone who struggles with anxiety, traveling with 17 strangers could have been terrifying. But Amazon's community spirit shone through.
Jade said:
“I was very nervous, but we had a WhatsApp group where we could talk before the trip. I made friends and we sat together on the plane, so that was really nice. It was fun going with other people who work at Amazon because everyone has their own story, and we all had different jobs but still knew the ins and outs of Amazon.
“I was so nervous I nearly turned around, but I told myself all I had to do was get on the plane and it would be fine. I’m so glad I did it.
“I just did a data analytics course through Career Choice, I’m thinking I may want to progress through that side of things. Or just move up through the tiers – I definitely want to stay at Amazon.”
David Marcok, Site Leader at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Swansea, added:
“Jade is a much-loved member of the team here at Amazon in Swansea and we were so pleased when we found out she was off to Seattle. We’re proud to have her represent our team on the trip and I hope she had a brilliant time. I Found the Right Place is one of the many programmes we run here at Amazon to show our appreciation for the colleagues that deliver smiles for our customers every day.”
