Retailers are joining forces with the UK Government to support 100,000 young people into retail employment by 2029, under a partnership designed to tackle rising youth unemployment.
The initiative was announced at the Retail Jobs Summit in Parliament, attended by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, Young People and Work Review chair Alan Milburn, and more than 30 retail leaders.
The partnership’s main programme is Opening Shift, a voluntary work experience scheme developed by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), retailers, and former Marks & Spencer Chief Executive Marc Bolland.
Opening Shift secures 11,305 placements
More than 40 retailers have helped develop and roll out Opening Shift, with 11,305 placements pledged. Participants aged 18 to 24 will work between 16 and 35 hours a week for two to four weeks.
Aldi, AllSaints, JD Sports and Primark are among the participating businesses, alongside Tesco, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis Partnership and New Look. Retailers will provide workplace inductions and a dedicated buddy throughout each placement.
Participants will continue receiving Universal Credit, while the Government will cover travel costs. Jobcentres will identify eligible candidates, check their right-to-work status and provide participating retailers with a single point of contact.
Every participant will receive an interview after completing their placement. Depending on availability, they could move into a permanent role, enter the retailer’s talent bank, or be directed towards apprenticeships and further training.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, said: “High-quality work experience is essential to fix this problem, and Opening Shift is a major contribution to delivering it.”
The placements are intended to provide meaningful experience without replacing employees or filling existing vacancies. Evidence from Movement to Work indicates that more than four in five young people completing high-quality work experience progress into employment, education or training.
NEET numbers remain close to one million
The programme follows the Young People and Work Review, which found that almost one million UK residents aged 16 to 24 are not in employment, education or training. The total could exceed 1.25 million within five years.
Milburn said: “Six in ten young people who are NEET have never had a job. Unless we can increase work opportunities, Britain’s NEET crisis will get worse, not better.”
The latest estimate put the number of NEET young people at 981,000 between April and June, down from more than one million in the first quarter, but 30,000 higher year-on-year.
Retail and its supply chain provide close to one-quarter of UK youth employment. However, the BRC has said the sector has lost 400,000 jobs over the past decade, while higher employment costs have made entry-level recruitment more difficult.
Opening Shift will operate alongside retailers’ existing schemes. Sainsbury’s recently announced 10,000 work experience opportunities, while Marks & Spencer launched an 18-month traineeship for 1,000 young people.