Tesco and Rathbone Training provide opportunities for over 200 out of work young people in South Wales
Back row (Left to Right): Nick Moss (Regional Account Manager – Rathbone), Al-Tayeb Ahmed Ibrahim (Successful Candidate), Jonathan Walters (DWP National Employer and Partnership Team), Glyn Gully (Regional Account Manager – Rathbone) and Lee Boyland (Employability Coach – Rathbone)
Front row (Left to Right): Leam Jenkins (Successful Candidate), Sian Jones (People Partner – Tesco) and Vas Skoulidou (People Partner – Work Placement Programmes (Channels)
Tesco and Rathbone Training have joined forces to provide over 200 Customer Service Level 1 programme placements for unemployed young people in South Wales through their recent Movement to Work scheme. Through working in partnership with the job centre for referrals, the scheme has grown from just 12 young people across Pembrokeshire, Swansea, Newport and Cardiff, to now include candidates across England, Scotland and Wales.
A celebration recently took place to recognise these achievements at the Tesco Cardiff Western Avenue store, where senior head office figures visited to celebrate with the candidates. At the event was Leam Jenkins, a deaf candidate that started on the scheme in September and is now working as a Store Colleague at the Tesco store. Speaking of his achievement, Leam said: “My tutors are kind and have helped me a lot. I’m so happy. Rathbone made me feel like a new person. I was a bit nervous seeing new people around me but tried my best.”
Other candidates were offered positions across Tesco’s online grocery, clothing, checkouts and stock control divisions, with one candidate, Jason Bestwick, saying: “I’ve never met a tutor like the one I have at Rathbone. I have some learning difficulties and couldn’t speak for a few years. He helped me with my reading, my writing, my spelling and everything else I needed. He got me to a place I never ever thought I would be. It has been the best thing in the world for me.”
Attending from the Tesco Head office were Vas Skoulidou, Work Placements Programme Manager at Tesco and Sian Jones, Tesco People Partner for Cardiff. Of the partnership, Vas Skoulidou said: “Tesco have been working with Rathbone in Wales since 2017 on the Movement to Work Festive and Seasonal programmes for 18-24 year old young people not in work, education or employment. Rathbone have always been responsive to Tesco’s needs, translating perfectly the requirements for each store within each geographical location and ensuring that the candidates who come onto the course actually want to work in retail and are aware of the challenges and the opportunities in this sector. The success rates of the into work ratio is consistently over 90%, which illustrates Rathbone’s commercial acumen and ability to understand Tesco’s requirements perfectly.”
We have had phenomenal success with this programme in Wales, supporting young people to start their career in retail with Tesco, and we want the relationship to continue into the future with Rathbone.”
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