A successful pilot programme in London has helped 12 young people to secure jobs at Tesco, and it will now be rolled out in other areas of the country with high levels of youth unemployment including Glasgow, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and North Wales.
It comes as new research shows that 74 per cent of British adults believe that youth unemployment is one of the biggest issues facing the UK today¹, and that one in five (19 per cent) of the UK’s young people are struggling to find work².
The new programme – Launch – offers unemployed 18-to-24-year olds employability skills training, hands-on experience and mentoring to help them find jobs.
All participants will receive ongoing support from Tesco and The Prince’s Trust following the four-week scheme.
Lisa McDermott, 21, from Leyton secured a job with Tesco after completing the programme last week. She said: “It was amazing to hear I’d got the job at Tesco and I couldn’t stop smiling! I’m not sure when it will sink in to be honest. I would love to work my way up and hope to be here for a long time. Just four weeks ago I was unemployed and feeling hopeless and now I’m looking forward to a bright future.”
Lisa McDermott
Martina Milburn CBE, chief executive of The Prince’s Trust said: “Youth unemployment can contribute to low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness and even depression. When an unemployed young person secures a job, it can quite literally transform their life. We are delighted to be working with Tesco to continue to reach those furthest from the jobs market.”
Judith Nelson, UK Personnel Director at Tesco, said “I’m incredibly proud of our record of helping young people to get a foot on the career ladder. We currently employ almost 65,000 young people in the UK and the scale of our business means each and every one of them has the chance to get on. We want to go even further by supporting more young people in the communities we serve, and by working together with The Prince’s Trust on this fantastic programme we can really change lives.”
USDAW General Secretary, John Hannett said “We welcome this new programme and Tesco’s commitment to supporting young people into work. Many of our members have experienced challenges getting into the job market and we know that young people find it particularly hard to break the cycle of ‘no experience – no job, no job – no experience’. The training and opportunities to learn on the job that this programme offers will be valuable in giving young people the skills and experience to succeed in the retail industry.”
This programme is part of the Movement to Work initiative designed to help tackle youth unemployment in the UK. Tesco is one of 15 leading UK employers already signed-up to the initiative, which aims to support 100,000 unemployed young people, giving them the skills and confidence to find a job. Tesco’s Regeneration Partnership programme has already helped more than 6,000 people out of long-term unemployment.
Youth charity The Prince’s Trust supported 58,000 young people last year. Three in four young people supported by The Trust move into work, education or training.
About The Prince’s Trust
Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps disadvantaged young people to get their lives on track. It supports 13 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Prince’s Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the law. The Trust’s programmes give vulnerable young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Prince of Wales’s charity has helped 750,000 young people since 1976 and supports over 100 more each day. Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800 842 842.
Follow us on Twitter: @PrincesTrust
Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/princestrust
About Tesco
We are a team of over 530,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to bringing the best value, choice and service to our millions of customers each week. Our core purpose is ‘we make what matters better, together’. In the UK we employ over 310,000 colleagues including 65,000 under the age of 25. Creating opportunities to help young people start successful careers is one of Tesco’s three big ambitions to use our scale for good. To find out more about our scale for good strategy and activities visit www.tescoplc.com/society
About Movement to Work
– Fifteen of Britain’s biggest employers have come together to form Movement to Work, which aims to support long-term unemployed young people into jobs.
– The companies are Accenture, BAE Systems, Barclays, BT, Centrica, the Civil Service, Diageo, GSK, HSBC, Kingfisher, M&S, National Grid, Tesco, Unilever, and WPP.
– Their aspiration is for Movement to Work to offer 100,000 vocational training opportunities for long-term unemployed young people, helping 50 per cent of these into work, education or training. All young people will be offered one-to-one support after the programme to help them progress in their career.
– For more details on the movement, go to www.movementtowork.com
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