M&S offers 1,000 training places for young people
M&S has launched a new training scheme to help young people get on the career ladder as it looks to help tackle the “growing youth unemployment challenge”.
Aimed at 18 to 24 year olds, the Not Just Any Career initiative will offer 1,000 training places for young people across the UK and Ireland.
Subscribe to TRBM&S said the scheme will focus on leadership skills, hands-on experience, and clear pathways into a long-term career in retail. It will be open to both M&S staff and external candidates from school leavers upwards with no degree required.
Last week, an interim report of Alan Milburn’s Young People and Work Review revealed that nearly one million young people (one in eight) in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET), with this forecast to reach one in six by 2030.
In a recent blog post commissioned by Milburn, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin reflected on his career in retail, which started with pushing trolleys at 16.
He said: “A Saturday job can change a young person’s life. I know, because it transformed mine. But when I think about the challenges facing young people today, I worry that many won’t have the same opportunity.
“That doesn’t need to be the case – we can do so much more to provide the opportunities, experiences, and skills to unlock their confidence and get them into good jobs.”
Young people who participate in the scheme will undergo six months of training, supported by M&S leaders and store colleagues. Areas covered will include practical retail management skills, confidence-building and hands-on experience in store. Successful participants will be offered the chance to move on to further training to become a store manager within M&S.
Thinus Keeve, M&S retail director, said: “Retail is one of the few careers where you can start young, learn fast, lead teams early and build an incredible future through hard work and ambition.
“As Stuart has argued, retail is the engine of the everyday economy and there is no better place to start than on the shopfloor.
“At M&S, we want more young people to see retail not just as a first job, but as a career with real opportunity, real responsibility and real progression.
“You do not need a degree to succeed here; you need attitude, energy, resilience and the willingness to learn. This programme is about opening doors for the next generation and giving talented young people the chance to thrive.”
Applications open on 27 July with placements made throughout the year on a rolling basis, with 1,000 available over the next 18 months.
