BRC: Retail targets 100,000 jobs to tackle youth unemployment

Retailers are joining forces with Government with the aim of creating 100,000 jobs for young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) within the current parliament. This landmark partnership comes with a new retail work experience programme to help tackle Britain's growing youth unemployment crisis was announced at the Retail Jobs Summit in Parliament, alongside DWP Secretary of State, Pat McFadden, Chair of the Young People and Work Review, Alan Milburn, and over 30 retail leaders.

The announcement comes after Alan Milburn's recent interim Young People and Work Report laid bare the scale of the challenge facing the country. Almost one million, or one in seven young people, are considered NEET. Milburn's interim report warned this could rise to more than 1.25 million over the next five years. Too many are stuck in the vicious cycle of no experience, no job, leaving them shut out of employment opportunities.  

To help break this cycle, a new work experience programme, Opening Shift, has been developed by leading retailers through the British Retail Consortium (BRC), and the Department for Work and Pensions with Marc Bolland. Retailers will offer 2-4 week work experience placements to NEETs aged 18-24, helping them gain the skills and confidence needed to take their first step into work. Participants will continue to receive Universal Credit throughout their placement. Over forty retailers are involved in the development and roll out of the new programme with 11,305 placements already pledged.

Every participant will receive an interview at the end of their placement, with the goal of moving as many as possible into a role within the company if one is available. Evidence shows that high quality work experience can significantly improve the life opportunities of young people, and help break the no experience no job loop. The on-the-job skills gained through the programme is aimed to support 100,000 NEETs into retail employment by 2029.

The Department for Work and Pensions will build a national pipeline via Jobcentres allowing NEETs to access these work experience opportunities. The work experience will be 16-35 hours each week and provide young people with the necessary skills and experience to then take their first step onto the career ladder with paid employment. Participants will also have a dedicated workplace Buddy to support them throughout their placement.

This new programme comes as retailers are also scaling up existing programmes working with DWP under the Youth Guarantee and with partners such as Movement to Work, the King's Trust and the IGD to build employability skills, work experience and direct hire opportunities for NEETs and provide work experience for those still at school and at risk of becoming NEET.

Retail has long been the most important gateway into work for young people. As the largest private sector employer, the industry and its supply chain account for almost a quarter of all youth employment. Many people come in with few qualifications and limited experience yet are able to build lasting careers with the skills they obtain.

This retail-government partnership offers a blueprint for other industries to follow, with businesses and Government working together to give young people the experience they need to get a foothold in the labour market. If replicated across the economy, it could create hundreds of thousands more routes into work and play a major role in reversing the rise in NEETs.

Andy Burnham MP, Prime Minister, said:

Too many young people are trapped in a vicious cycle where they need experience to get a job and need a job to get experience - leaving them stuck while the world of work drifts further out of reach. That isn't right.

It's great news that retailers across the country are stepping up to offer thousands of young people the chance to get valuable work experience and a route into a job. Opportunities like these can make all the difference, helping young people gain the confidence, skills and connections they need to get started in work.

My government is backing British businesses to invest, grow and create jobs, so they can open up more opportunities for young people and build the skilled workforce they need.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at the British Retail Consortium, said:

Retail is coming to the rescue for tens of thousands of young people struggling to take their first steps on the career ladder. Too many are trapped in a no experience, no job doom loop. High-quality work experience is essential to fix this problem and Opening Shift is a major contribution to delivering it.

Retail is uniquely placed to make a difference on the NEETs crisis, given the industry's scale and reach touching every corner of the country. The challenges facing young people are significant. Work experience is a first step, and with the right conditions for businesses to invest and create new entry level jobs, employers across the economy can help tackle the NEET crisis.

Pat McFadden MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said:

This partnership will help young people to get the experience employers are looking for.

Work experience can be life-changing, giving young people the skills, confidence and connections they need to take their first step into work.

By creating thousands of opportunities in the retail sector, we're delivering on our commitment to help more young people build brighter futures, backed by our £2.5 billion investment to support the next generation into employment.

Alan Milburn, Chair of the Young People and Work Review, 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.

A lack of work experience is holding back young people and is one of the biggest barriers stopping employers taking on more people.

 That is why this new partnership with the retail industry is so welcome. It will give more young people their first foot on the jobs ladder and give employers a bigger pool to recruit from. It is a win-win - and I hope one that other sectors will embrace.

"Across the country more and more employers are helping create a movement for change to prevent the risk of a lost generation of young people."

Marc Bolland, Lead Non-Executive Director at DWP, appointed to convene businesses and create more opportunities for young people, said:

My work as Founder and Chairman of Movement to Work showed me first-hand what's possible when business and government work together to open doors for young people.

Today's announcement takes that further, creating thousands more opportunities for young people to build a future in one of Britain's biggest industries and I'd encourage every retailer to look at what more they can offer.

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business Innovation, Science and Trade, said:

Work experience can be the moment that opens the door to a young person's first job, giving them the confidence, skills and practical experience they need to get on.

This partnership with the retail sector is fantastic because it's about creating real opportunities for young people no matter where they live, making sure talent is not held back by background or postcode.

Good jobs and exciting careers should be within reach for every young person and supporting businesses to develop the workforce of the future is exactly how we make that happen.

Sarah Bradbury, Chief Executive at IGD, said:

It is fantastic to see the retail sector uniting to give unemployed young people the workplace experience they need to take their first steps into work. Preventing young people rom becoming NEET is also crucial, which is why our Feeding Britain's Future industry-wide movement has set a bold ambition to engage every UK secondary school by 2030. As part of the movement, we are also working with the Careers & Enterprise Company to deliver high-quality, modern work experience for young people at scale, in collaboration with food and drink businesses across the supply chain.

-ENDS-

Notes:

• List of retailers involved in the development and roll out of Opening Shift to date: Aldi, All Saints, Amazon, Ann Summers, Asda, B&M, B&Q, Bensons, Booths, Boots, Costa Coffee, Currys, Dobbies, Dr Martens, Dunelm, Fishpools, Greggs, Holland & Barrett, House of Bruar, Iceland, JD Sports, John Lewis Partnership, JoJo Maman Bebe, Lakeland, Liberty, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Mountain Warehouse, New Look, Next, Our Coop, Pets at Home, Pret, Primark, Savers, Screwfix, Superdrug, Tesco, The Perfume Shop, The Works, Very Group, Wickes.
• Others who support the ambition and have recently announced their own programmes or are scaling up existing initiatives include many of the above, McDonald's and Sainsbury's.
• The creation of this programme follows the industry coming together with over 80 retail CEOs writing to the Prime Minister in June, aligned on a shared commitment to bring more young or disadvantaged people into work and help shape approaches that could be delivered at scale and pace. Since then, a working group of retailers and Government have sought to create a work experience programme that can be delivered at scale in a way that works for young people and for retail businesses.
• Participation in Opening Shift is voluntary. Participants will be offered two to four-week placements with participating retailers. They will gain experience of a real workplace, develop transferable skills such as teamwork, planning and communication, and learn about the careers available across retail.
• Government will support the programme by creating a national pipeline of eligible young people through Jobcentres, checking their eligibility and right to work, providing retailers with a single point of contact, and covering participants' travel costs. Those taking part will continue to receive Universal Credit throughout their placement.
• Retailers will provide the work experience placements, workplace induction and Buddy support, with placements designed to give young people meaningful experience without replacing existing employees or filling live vacancies. At the end of each placement, participants will receive an interview and could be considered for a permanent role if one is available, placed into the retailer's talent bank, or directed towards apprenticeships, training and other employment opportunities.
• Evidence from established programmes such as Movement to Work shows that over four in five young people who complete high-quality work experience go on to a positive outcome, whether employment, education or training. Retailers are building on that evidence to help break the 'no experience, no job' cycle.