Out the Box

NOW THAT'S A GOOD IDEA: TESCO OUTLOOK INEQUALITY

Tesco to help 45,000 young people ‘jumpstart their career’

TESCO AIMS TO HELP TARGET 'OUTLOOK INEQUALITY' BY COMMITTING TO HELPING OVER 45,000 YOUNG PEOPLE 'JUMPSTART THEIR CAREER AND BUILD EMPLOYABLE SKILLS'

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Tesco is committing to helping 45,000 young people give their career a jumpstart over the next year as part of a drive to tackle ‘outlook inequality’.

WHICH IS?

A new report has found that post-pandemic young people nationwide have lowered their ambitions, particularly those from lower income families. ‘Outlook inequality’ is leading them to be less optimistic, less ambitious and feel less equipped to compete in the job market.

WHO DID THE REPORT?

A think tank called The Social Market Foundation. The research and the subsequent report was supported by Tesco. It canvassed over 1,000 16-25 year olds up and down the country and found that while 60% feel optimistic for the future, a significant number feel increasingly pessimistic. Overall, young people are less optimistic now than after the great recession of 2008/09. Half say they have lowered their ambitions since the pandemic, and this rises sharply among those from lower income families.

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30% said they expect to ‘end up in a dead-end job’ and that ‘people like me don’t succeed’. This figure rose to 43% amongst those from lower income families. Some 44% said they thought few or none of their life goals were achievable, again rising sharply to 61% among those from less affluent backgrounds. One third of young people (34%) do not feel equipped to compete in the job market, rising to more than half (52%) among those from less affluent backgrounds. Finally, young people from lower income families were twice as likely to not feel optimistic about the future (33%) and that they were discouraged by setbacks (47%).

SO WHAT’S TESCO DOING ABOUT IT?

Committing to helping over 45,000 young people build employability skills and jumpstart their careers in the next year, whatever their background. Tesco will provide a range of potential opportunities to these young people through:

* Continued participation in the Government Kickstart scheme and offering work placements as part of our Movement to Work collaboration

* Thousands of permanent roles for young people across the Tesco business

* Offering degree apprenticeships, graduate roles, and a Business Diversity Internship

* Pre-employment and outreach in partnership with The Careers Enterprise Company, Speakers for Schools and IGD

ANYTHING ELSE?

The supermarket is also extending its partnership with youth charity The Prince’s Trust for a further five years with the ambition to reach 200,000 young people most in need. The partnership aims to provide confidence building and skills development programmes in hundreds of schools across the UK, including resources to support mental health and wellbeing.

WHAT’S THAT MEAN IN THE REAL WORLD?

Tesco’s commitment to create opportunities for over 45,000 young people includes new hires (on average Tesco hires over 9,900 young people under the age of 25 every year), the projected reaching of 29,796 young people with the Prince’s Trust in the year 2021-22 and a further 5,230 young people with IGD, Speakers for Schools and the Careers and Enterprise Company.

WHAT’S TESCO SAYING?

Natasha Adams, Tesco’s Chief People Officer, said: “Inequalities in society are having a big impact on the outlook and chances of young people. At the same time, a whole generation is grappling with the disruption that Covid-19 has caused to jobs and education. We must not allow a two-tier system to emerge where some are equipped with the confidence to get on and others are left behind. Businesses like ours need young, diverse talent. We are committed to creating opportunities for all and want young people to see that everyone’s welcome at Tesco, whoever you are and whatever your background.”

WHAT’S THE PRINCE’S TRUST SAYING?

Jonathan Townsend, UK Chief Executive, said: “We are enormously proud to be working with Tesco over the next five years to reach more young people and support them into the world of work. Young people’s employment prospects and aspirations have been hit hard by the pandemic and for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, it is harder still. This generation of young people have faced a disrupted education and now look to enter a volatile jobs market, so we need to make sure the odds don’t stay stacked against them.

“More than ever, it’s crucial that we work with partners like Tesco to support young people to upskill, train and access job opportunities; long term commitments such as these mean we can make a real difference to the lives of young people across the UK.”