Supporting Young People into Work
Back in December, Sam O'Connor and I attended an event run by the Prince's Trust called "Get Hired". Here the trust support young unemployed people from all walks of life into work. The young people could have been through a traditional Prince's Trust support program, or could simply be looking for some assistance getting onto the career ladder - but all attended the session with the hopes of securing an exciting role with company they were passionate about.
At the event, the young people will be given a morning of support in interview technique, structuring answers and top tips for assessments. In the afternoon they have the opportunity to pick from a group of circa 15 employers to have a 10 minute interview, with the aim of being progressed to a formal company interview.
We were lucky enough to share the session with 45 young people, and in a first for the Prince's Trust, all 45 wanted an interview with Sam and I meaning we spent a busy afternoon discussing John Lewis Partnership, career prospects, and roles in Waitrose & Partners with the the hopefuls
From the whole group, Sam and I felt that 19 demonstrated the understanding of the Partnership, that we would like to invite them to come to a full assessment at our Waitrose & Partners Recruitment Hub in Central London for a role in one of our many London branches. Although there were some delays in bringing our hopefuls into assess with us (due to the Christmas period), lots were still able to attended the assessment session.
We had great result of 60% passing the assessment
We believe the session has not only been an amazing opportunity in raising our employer brand into communities that may never have thought about working with us before, but also giving the support and chances to young people who are looking to start their careers . We plan on attending more of these monthly sessions moving forward, working closer with JL&P and WR&P to ensure we are streamlined in attracting a whole new candidate base into the Partnership.
If you are keen to find out more about this great opportunity - follow this link to the Prince's Trust site
Administrator for the Institute for Community Research and Development at University of Wolverhampton and part time doctoral candidate at Nottingham Trent University, 24/26 cohort of INQYR ISTN.
5 年This is so exciting!! I love that the company I work for is tackling my passion project for supporting young people into work. I hope we will get to rep at store level too? #dreamvocation #dissertationsubject #proudsolihullpartner #proudpartner