M&S is gearing up for the opening of its brand-new High Road foodhall in Leytonstone on Thursday 17th July at 9am and the full team has now been recruited.
Among 55 new colleagues are fourteen Marks and Starts participants, including Minnie, who is finishing off her training at M&S’ Finsbury Park store.
Marks & Start is an employability scheme ran in partnership with The King’s Trust, designed to help young people aged 16-30, who are disadvantaged in their job hunt, gain valuable retail experience and employability skills.
Launched in 2004, the scheme has supported almost 900 young people across London so far.
M&S runs three intakes each year across the UK – on average, 88% of participants are offered a role at M&S after finishing their work experience placement.
Ahead of the Leytonstone opening, M&S adapted their Marks and Start programme and worked closely with the DWP’s pre-employment and Sector Based Work Academy programmes to recruit local Waltham Forest residents for the new store.
For twenty-year-old Minnie, who spent time growing up in both England and France and now lives in Highams Park, moving from unemployment to a permanent Customer Assistant job at the new store has had a big impact.
She says: “I finished college last July and took up an electrician’s course but was struggling and ended up at the job centre. I found out about Marks & Start there and after applying, ended up doing work experience in both the Hackney and Finsbury Park stores. The scheme has been amazing for me, especially working with all the different people and getting to see how a store is really run behind the scenes has been so interesting.
For me, having a routine has made all the difference, I work eight hours a day and it gives you a great structure. My favourite part of my job is speaking to customers, we get so many different people coming in to shop, but also I’ve been so lucky to make really good friends with other people on Marks & Start. It’s great that so many of us are joining team Leytonstone together! I feel a bit nervous about joining a new store but I am so excited to see how it will look and get started!”
Chelsea Themistokleous, Store Manager at M&S Leytonstone, added: “I couldn’t be prouder of Minnie and all our fantastic Marks & Start colleagues joining the store team! They impressed everyone during their work experience and we are so excited to see what they can bring to the new store. I absolutely love being involved in the scheme as the difference a job can make to a young person’s confidence is just amazing.
We now have a fantastic team waiting to serve our customers and we cannot wait to open the doors next week!”
To find out more or apply for the Marks & Start programme, visit The King’s Trust website here.
M&S Food in Leytonstone will be offering customers the very best of M&S Food and is one of 12 new UK foodhalls opening this financial year as part of M&S’ store rotation programme, backed by a £300m investment.
Cllr Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing at Waltham Forest Council, said: ''Supporting our young residents into employment is a priority for us at the council, and I am delighted that Waltham Forest residents have secured new jobs through the Marks and Start programme. Our employment teams have worked closely with M&S in the past, so it's great that we have been able to work together again to help even more young people gain employability skills.
''This has been made possible by our regenerative work in the borough, looking at new opportunities for our town centres, attracting reputable retailers like M&S to expand locally.
''Chelsea's own story is a huge inspiration, as she started her M&S career as a customer assistant and worked her way up the ladder to store manager leveI, which gives our young people a real and tangible prospect for their own future.
''I wish Minnie and all of the other successful candidates the very best of luck in their new roles.''
ENDS