Retailers are joining forces with the government to help create 100,000 jobs for young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) by 2029, as part of a new drive to tackle youth unemployment.
The initiative was unveiled at the Retail Jobs Summit in Parliament, where more than 30 retail leaders joined prime minister Andy Burnham, work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden and Alan Milburn, chair of the Young People and Work Review.
At the centre of the partnership is Opening Shift, a new retail work experience programme developed by retailers through the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Marc Bolland, former CEO of Marks & Spencer and Morrisons.
The programme will offer 18-24-year-olds who are NEET two- to four-week work experience placements, with participants continuing to receive Universal Credit throughout.
More than 40 retailers are involved in developing and rolling out the programme, with 11,305 placements already pledged.
Retail work experience
Placements will run for between 16 and 35 hours a week and give participants practical experience and skills to help them move into paid employment.
Each young person will also be assigned a workplace “Buddy” to provide support during the placement.
Crucially, every participant will be offered an interview at the end of their placement, with the aim of moving as many as possible into a permanent role with the retailer where vacancies are available.
The DWP will create a national pipeline through Jobcentres, enabling young people to access the opportunities.
The initiative follows an interim report from Milburn’s Young People and Work Review, which found that almost one million young people – around one in seven – are currently NEET. The report warned that the figure could rise to more than 1.25 million over the next five years.
Milburn said six in 10 young people who are NEET have never had a job, with a lack of work experience acting as a major barrier to employers taking them on.
“Unless we can increase work opportunities, Britain's NEET crisis will get worse not better,” he said.
“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.”
Retail steps up
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said retail was “coming to the rescue” of young people struggling to enter the workforce.
“Too many are trapped in a no experience, no job doom loop,” she said. “High-quality work experience is essential to fix this problem and Opening Shift is a major contribution to delivering it.”
She added that retail was “uniquely placed” to tackle the NEET crisis because of the industry's scale and reach across the country.
Retail is the largest private sector employer and, together with its supply chain, accounts for almost a quarter of all youth employment. The sector has traditionally provided an entry point into work for people with limited qualifications or previous experience, while offering opportunities to develop careers.
Prime minister Andy Burnham said retailers were offering young people “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,” he said.
McFadden said the partnership would help young people gain the experience employers are looking for, describing work experience as potentially “life-changing”.
Read More: Government launches £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers
The government is backing the wider youth employment effort with a £2.5 billion investment to support the next generation into work.
Jonathan Reynolds, business secretary, said: “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.”
Wider industry effort
The new programme builds on existing work between retailers and the DWP under the Youth Guarantee, as well as initiatives with organisations including Movement to Work, the King’s Trust and IGD.
IGD chief executive Sarah Bradbury said preventing young people from becoming NEET was also critical.
Through its Feeding Britain’s Future movement, IGD has set an ambition to engage every UK secondary school by 2030, while also working with the Careers & Enterprise Company and food and drink businesses to provide high-quality work experience at scale.
The retail-government partnership is being positioned as a potential model for other industries.
Bolland, who has been tasked by the DWP with convening businesses and creating more opportunities for young people, said his experience with Movement to Work had demonstrated “what's possible when business and government work together to open doors for young people”.
“I'd encourage every retailer to look at what more they can offer,” he said.