Sainsbury’s have recently announced that they will create 6,000 new jobs in their commercial properties over the next year – of which, 400 jobs will be created in the North East. The jobs will be a mixture of full-time and part-time positions, meaning no matter what your circumstances are there will be a position for you.
Speaking of the job opportunities, Justin King, CEO of Sainsbury’s, said: “As one of Britain’s biggest employers the range of jobs, training and skills we offer is growing with our business.
“We’re creating thousands of opportunities each year across a variety of careers, from leaders of the future who want to run their own business area, to parents and students looking to work around other commitments.”
Although the jobs are open to anyone, the company have recently started a campaign to increase the awareness of the careers on offer at Sainsbury’s commercial properties for young people. The campaign named ‘Youth Can’, offers opportunities to young people in the retail sector and helps to combat the ‘retail career snobbery’ that often many young people are faced with when telling their friends and family where they work.
Gwyn Burr Customer Service and Colleague Director at Sainsbury’s spoke of the issues people are faced with: “The stories we heard were a real eye opener. They were incredibly passionate and positive about working in retail. But all talked of how ‘retail career snobbery’ blinkers friends and family from the true picture.”
To combat this issue, the company decided to ask their own young employees “to take their stories out to the people who need to hear them most – young people who are facing one of the most challenging employment markets for some time,” Gwyn added.
Many people assume that if you work in retail commercial properties, you are committing yourself to a career in stock replenishment or being a cashier. But that is only a small part of the retail world, as Gwyn, stated: “We’re a growing business, and can offer people the chance to grow with us. Sainsbury’s is a place where you’re able to progress and try lots of new things. It’s incredibly meritocratic – and if you put in the hard yards the results get noticed.
“The variety and potential for career progression is pretty much unrivalled. So you may start as a cashier or merchandising shelves, but relatively quickly you can progress to run your own department – such as fresh foods, the in-store bakery or TU clothing – or even a store or area.”
The employees will talk to young people who are at school leaving age, as well as college and university leavers. But also they will be visiting schools to do talks to pupils aged over 14, who are starting to think about their future careers.
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