Marks & Spencer has committed to give 2,000 young people their “first step” in a retail career over the next three years through its Marks & Start programme.
The new “ambitious” multi-year strategy, in partnership with The King’s Trust, aims to provide employment, training and support to “hard to reach” young people who have been struggling to find stable work.
Alongside the programme, M&S will work with MPs, metro mayors and the Labour government to help create tailored employability schemes to get young people into work, as the UK battles a “crisis” of youth inactivity since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, training or employment has risen by nearly a quarter since 2022, to more than 870,000, according to ONS figures released in October. Poor mental health in the wake of the pandemic is considered a major factor in preventing people from finding work.
According to M&S’s own research – which polled 1,400 18 to 24-year-olds – two thirds of young people cited mental health as a barrier to work. The retailer lunched what it claimed was its “biggest-ever charity partnership” with Young Minds last year, and aims to raise £5m to support young people’s mental health services by 2026.
M&S CEO Stuart Machin, who started his retail career at 16, is keen to highlight the potential of the retail sector as a “gateway” to employment for many.
“As a young boy of 16 years old, I started my career in retail, working part time on weekends and in the evening doing trolleys, working on the checkout serving customers and replenishing shelves. Work gave me purpose as well as pocket money.
“As one of the UK’s biggest retail employers, it’s our responsibility to help young people into work – especially those furthest from employment who might need extra support,” Machin said. “But we can’t do it alone: that’s why we partner with The King’s Trust and Young Minds, brilliant organisations that really understand the help young people need.”
The Marks & Start programme – which celebrates its 20 years anniversary this year – provides opportunities for employment across M&S’ operations, but also a programme of skills support, from interview preparation to money management. More than 30,000 people have participated in the programme since it launched, 12,000 of those in partnership with the King’s Trust. Four in five of the participants have gone on to have a career at M&S.
“Young people continue to face significant challenges to their employment prospects but there are so many young people who are ready to work and just need an additional support to make that happen,” said The King’s Trust CEO Jonathan Townsend.
“We rely on partners like M&S who invest in young people and create accessible routes to employment, helping us to achieve our mission of building the confidence and skills of young people who need us most.
“M&S have been a driving force behind our employability initiatives, and we are so proud of our long-standing partnership, celebrating 20 years together to support 12,000 young people. With their pioneering approach and embedding our work across their organisation, we are able to remove employability barriers for thousands of young people, helping to transform their futures.”
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