Young Brits struggling to get their first job because they have no previous experience could be given a new route into employment under a major drive involving some of the country’s biggest retailers.
More than 40 retailers have joined forces with the Department for Work and Pensions and British Retail Consortium on a new programme designed to help unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds gain hands-on workplace experience.
The new Opening Shift programme will initially provide more than 11,000 placements lasting between two and four weeks at retailers including Tesco, John Lewis, Waitrose, Currys and Costa Coffee. The wider retail sector has set an ambition of creating up to 100,000 jobs for young people not in employment, education or training by the end of this Parliament.
Participants will complete between 16 and 35 hours of work experience each week while continuing to receive Universal Credit, with travel support available where needed. They will also receive workplace mentoring and interview experience, while participating retailers can offer successful candidates a permanent role, put them into a talent pool or direct them towards apprenticeships and other opportunities.
Chris DeCarolis, Senior PEO Advisor at PEO Metrics, says the scheme could be particularly valuable for young people caught in the frustrating situation of being told they need work experience before anybody will give them their first opportunity.
‘No experience’ does not mean ‘nothing to offer’
“One of the biggest traps for someone trying to get their first job is believing that because they have never been formally employed, they have nothing useful to show an employer.
“That simply is not true. Employers hiring for entry-level positions are often looking for much more basic evidence that somebody will turn up, communicate well, learn quickly and take responsibility.
“A young person may not have six months of retail experience, but they may have helped organise something at school, looked after younger siblings, volunteered, played in a sports team, completed coursework to a deadline or dealt with people through a club or community group.
“The important thing is translating those experiences into qualities an employer recognises.”
The programme is specifically aimed at eligible young Universal Credit customers aged 18 to 24 who are not in employment, education or training, with referrals handled through Jobcentres.
The scale of the issue is significant. Recent reporting around the scheme pointed to about one million young people currently classed as not in employment, education or training, with warnings that number could rise to 1.25 million without intervention. Six in 10 young people in that group have never previously held a job.
Treat two weeks like a real job
While a placement lasting just two to four weeks may sound short, DeCarolis says that can be enough time to change how a candidate is viewed by an employer.
“If somebody has no employment history, even a short period in a real workplace suddenly gives the hiring manager evidence they did not have before.
“My advice would be to treat every shift as if you have already been hired permanently.
“Arrive early rather than exactly on time. Learn people’s names. If you finish a task, ask what needs doing next rather than waiting to be noticed. And when someone explains how something works, make sure they do not have to explain the same thing five times.
“These sound like tiny things, but with entry-level recruitment employers are often asking themselves a very simple question: would I trust this person to turn up next week and do the job without constant supervision?”
Participants in Opening Shift are expected to receive a workplace “buddy”, with reporting on the scheme saying candidates will also be guaranteed an interview after completing their placement.
That means the placement itself effectively becomes part of the interview process.
Do not wait until the interview to impress them
DeCarolis says young workers should avoid treating the final interview as the moment when they suddenly need to start selling themselves.
“If you have spent two or four weeks inside that business, the employer already knows far more about you than they could ever learn from a CV.
“They have seen whether you arrived on time, how you reacted when something went wrong, how you spoke to customers and colleagues, whether you asked sensible questions and whether your confidence improved.
“Use the interview to remind them of specific things you actually did. Instead of saying ‘I’m hardworking’, say that you learned a new task on your second shift and were trusted to complete it independently by the end of the placement. Evidence is always stronger than adjectives.”
The Government says there are already more than 11,000 placements pledged, while retailers involved in developing the programme include Aldi, Amazon, Asda, Boots, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Next, Pets at Home, Primark, Superdrug and Tesco among dozens of others.
The initiative sits alongside the Government’s separate Jobs Guarantee, which is expected to support more than 90,000 Universal Credit claimants aged 18 to 24 into work over the next three years. Eligible long-term unemployed young people can receive six months of fully funded paid employment matched to their skills.
“The hardest job to get is often the first one because employers have nothing from your working life to judge you on.
“That is why schemes like this matter. A two-week placement might look small on paper, but for somebody whose CV currently has no employment history at all, it can provide the first reference, first example and first employer who has actually seen what they can do.
“The goal should not simply be to complete the placement. It should be to leave with somebody inside that business willing to say, ‘I would hire them.’
