A Portadown Amazon employee’s passion for supporting his local community has been recognised at the company’s annual ‘That’s BENtastic!’ Awards, run by the Operations arm of Amazon’s Black Employee Network for the UK & Ireland.

Clifford Oboarekpe is a Workplace Health & Safety Technician at Amazon in Portadown and was nominated for the award by his colleagues for the impact of his mentoring programmes on his colleagues.

Clifford runs a Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) mentorship programme, which is open to anyone interested. Over the past two years, he personally mentored three black individuals in HSE fundamentals, career readiness, and interview preparation, and referred them for roles within Amazon’s Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) team.

Two of the mentees were successfully hired into the WHS team, directly increasing black representation in a specialist field, and securing skilled worker visas that benefited them and their families.

Clifford Oboarekpe, who works at the Amazon site in Portadown, has been recognised at the company’s national 'That’s BENtastic!' Awards ceremony. Picture: Ian Stratton

placeholder image — Clifford Oboarekpe, who works at the Amazon site in Portadown, has been recognised at the company’s national 'That’s BENtastic!' Awards ceremony. Picture: Ian Stratton

Now in their fifth year, the awards recognise and reward employees who have made a significant contribution to their community over the past 12 months - whether by uplifting others, creating positive change, or having a lasting impact on the people around them.

Fatai Sulaiman, president of BEN UK Ops, added: “Five years on, the That’s BENtastic! awards exist to recognise the incredible work Amazon employees like Clifford have within black and ethnic minority communities, both in the workplace and beyond.

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"I’m proud to recognise Clifford’s efforts to support those around him with this award. He is an incredibly valued member of the Amazon Portadown team, and his work has a real impact on the lives of many people in our community.”

The Black Employee Network (BEN UK & IE) is an employee resource group at Amazon, open to black employees and allies. Their mission at Amazon is to recruit, retain, and empower black employees and allies across the business.

BEN UK Ops is a branch of the network specifically for employees in the operational arm of Amazon's business. Through BEN UK Ops, employees have access to resources, networking opportunities and engaging initiatives to support their personal and professional growth.

Amazon has 13 employee-led groups which play an important role in bringing Amazon employees from across the business together and creating a sense of community globally while encouraging inclusivity and diversity.