A new report suggests that Amazon Web Services Inc. may look to enter the multibillion-dollar employee training market by introducing a specialized new service on its cloud platform.

CNBC today cited two anonymous sources as saying that the offering from Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud computing unit would enable companies to set up learning programs for workers and deliver various educational content. The tipsters indicated that the service is in the consideration phase, but a job posting suggests that it’s already under development.

AWS published the listing in question late last year on LinkedIn. The opening, which apparently hasn’t yet been filled, seeks a solutions architect to help build a “learning platform that will enable hundreds of thousands of businesses in 190 countries around the world to transform and scale their learning initiatives.”

The push was apparently born from a project at Amazon to develop a training platform for its own employees. According to one of the insiders who spoke with CNBC, the technology giant set about building the platform after finding that none of the existing offerings on the market suited its needs. The tipster went on to say that the company started the initiative with the goal of building a service that could eventually be turned into a commercial product.

It appears that the development effort has been going on since at least last June. That’s when James Urquhart, the general manager for learning services at AWS, began sharing job openings on Twitter seeking experienced technologists who have “led a new SaaS product from concept to delivery.”

Although employee training lies beyond the core focus of AWS, it’s no stranger to the field. The cloud giant operates programs to help partners teach their personnel the ropes of using its cloud platform. Plus, AWS already offers several services geared toward everyday knowledge workers, including a managed email and calendar service called WorkMail.

Moving into employee training would also align with Amazon’s aggressive expansion strategy. If recent leaks are to be believed, the company is currently working to enter the delivery market, establish a bigger presence in the medical supplies segment and develop a checking accountlike service for consumers.

Photo: Robert Hof