Amazon Web Services (AWS) Singapore has been endorsed by its employees and Certified™ by Great Place To Work® for 2024. This is the second time AWS Singapore has achieved this recognition, which is testament to the incredible dedication, passion, and talent of team members who make it a truly exceptional workplace.
Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. The Certification is the sole, official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture.
"The Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, the Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Amazon Web Services stands out as a great place to work, providing a great workplace environment for its employees."
Employee-centric Culture
According to Singapore-based Lisa Tay, APJ HR Director, AWS, the Singapore team’s strength lies in its people. That is why AWS is committed to empowering employees and fostering a workplace culture where everyone can thrive, succeed, and make a positive impact on customers and communities.
"We have a community where everyone can thrive and every day, our builders bring their whole selves to work and this enriches our Amazon culture and drives innovation with diverse perspectives, multiple skills, and rich experiences. We are more than colleagues; we are friends, mentors, and collaborators who support each other at every step. This sense of camaraderie and unity fuels our success and makes AWS Singapore a truly special place to work," said Lisa.
Whether it's through skills training, career development programs, or opportunities to work on cutting-edge projects, AWS is dedicated to helping our employees reach their full potential.
Commitment to Professional Growth
AWS staff have access to a wide array of training and development programs tailored to meet the needs of our diverse workforce. These include technical training to enhance job-specific skills, leadership development programs to prepare future leaders, and soft skills training that helps all employees navigate and thrive within our corporate environment. We also encourage and give our employees opportunities to move internally and experience new roles within Amazon through our mobility program.
Ricky Tan, Senior Technology Business Developer, Global Education, AWS, echoes the above by sharing his own experience working at AWS for the past three and a half years. “AWS empowers me to innovate and help customers modernize. I find great meaning in skilling, reskilling, and upskilling talents to build impactful solutions. Anchored by our 16 Leadership Principles, AWS’s culture enables us to think big and deliver phenomenal results, leveraging Singapore’s greatest asset: its people,” said Ricky.
Such opportunities also extend to the broader community, where AWS has trained more than 400,000 people in Singapore on cloud skills since 2017. For example, AWS re/Start is a free skills training program that prepares learners for cloud careers. Designed for learners with no technology background, the program provides fundamental AWS Cloud skills and connects them with potential employers.
AWS also promotes mentorship programs that connect employees with mentors who provide guidance, support, and insight into career development opportunities within the company. Our numerous internal networks and affinity groups also offer employees the chance to meet and collaborate with others who share similar backgrounds or interests. Amazon has 13 affinity groups, also known as employee resource groups, which bring Amazon employees together across businesses and locations around the world. Some of the chapters include Amazon Women in Engineering (AWE), People with a Disability (PWD), Asians at Amazon, and more.
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
AWS’s commitment to the professional growth of our diverse employees is exemplified by Amanda Kiemas, Channel and Alliances Leader at AWS, who has spent more than seven years building her career at AWS Singapore.
“Inclusivity and diversity are foundational at AWS. As an Asian woman without a tech degree, I’ve benefited from numerous learning opportunities and immense support from colleagues,” shared Amanda. “Leveraging AWS’s community and collaborative spirit, my solution architect colleagues helped me grasp cloud concepts and problem-solving techniques. This guidance enabled me to earn the AWS Partner Solution Architect Associate Certification, enhancing my ability to address customer challenges and contribute to successful outcomes.”
AWS is dedicated to building a workforce that mirrors the diversity of our global community, fostering an environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel they belong and can thrive. We understand the importance of diverse perspectives in driving innovation and are committed to enhancing representation across all levels of our company.
Our AWS She Builds program is a prime example of our commitment to supporting women in technology in Singapore. Launched in 2017, AWS She Builds was inspired by an AWS employee who recognized the need to close the gender gap in tech conferences and community events. These events provide a platform for women to engage with tech leaders, share experiences, and enhance their skills. The She Builds Tech Skills Program aims to empower more women to build STEM careers and develop into the future leaders in technology.
Community Impact and Volunteerism
From charity events and beach clean-ups to biodiversity protection and educational outreach, our builders in Singapore have been working on meaningful programs to serve our communities through local charities or as part of our AWS InCommunities programme. For example, in 2023, a team of AWS volunteers participated in preparing, cooking, packing, and delivering 7,000 meals to various locations across Singapore. These meals reached diverse beneficiaries, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income families, children from single-parent households, migrant workers and more. In another outreach, AWS InCommunities and local AWS employees collaborated with Junior Achievement Singapore to launch the “Fun with AR/VR Coding” programme for four secondary schools in Singapore, reaching nearly 800 students.
“Our employees at AWS Singapore are the driving force behind our success and positive change in our communities. Whether volunteering for local charities, or as part of our AWS InCommunities programme, or using their skills to develop innovative solutions, our team members make a difference every day,” said Sandra Teh, Chief Culture Evangelist for APJC & EMEA at AWS.
New Office to Enhance Innovation, Culture and Community
By early 2025, our dynamic AWS Singapore workforce will move into a brand new inclusive, sustainable, and accessible work space in the city’s central business district. The new Asia Pacific and Japan hub will feature cloud innovation zones, an executive briefing center, and a variety of collaborative spaces for our customers, partners and employees to come together and be bold inventors in the technology space. The new hub also reaffirms AWS’s long-term commitment to Singapore including a recently announced additional S$12 billion investment in the country.
AWS is a place where our employees’ contributions drive our success and shape our culture every day. We are still in early days of cloud adoption and we can’t wait to see what our employees will build tomorrow.
Click here to learn more about the teams which are expanding here at AWS.
