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Retailer has quadrupled the number of places available for 2024 intake - reflecting M&S’ commitment to finding the best retail talent
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Open to school-leavers and graduates, candidates could be running a store in just two years
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School leavers have the opportunity to complete a degree-equivalent apprenticeship
Today (Thursday 19 October) M&S has relaunched its early careers programmes as applications open for its 2024 intake.
Each programme has been reshaped and simplified to focus even more on the store experience, with each aligned to three key business areas: Retail through the Retail Leaders Programme¹, Food through the Food Business Programme², and Clothing & Home through the Clothing & Home Business Programme³.
The scale of 2024’s Retail Leaders Programme is significantly bigger – the retailer wants to attract 114 people which will comprise 38 school leavers and 76 graduates (compared to 29 graduates in 2023). The four-fold increase reflects M&S’ focus on developing talent who want early accountability, can bring fresh perspectives, and build the skills to become future leaders in the business.
School-leavers and grads on the Retail Leaders programme will be hands on from day one, building the skills and experience needed to manage a store. By the end of the two (or three)* year programme, they will be managing a store of their own - the equivalent of running a business with a multi-million-pound turnover.
Six months after starting the Retail Leaders programme, school leavers will have the opportunity to complete a Level 6 – degree equivalent – apprenticeship. The retailer appreciates that further study isn’t for everyone, so the apprenticeship qualification is completely optional.
With a passion for finding the best talent from a broad range of people – school leavers to graduates – M&S’ CEO, Stuart Machin, had a personal interest in shaping the schemes. He drew upon his own experience - where a job at a supermarket as a teenager set him on the path to becoming the Chief Executive of a FTSE 100 company – to make sure the programmes equipped talent with the skills they need to lead a M&S store of the future.
Read this blog from Stuart, our CEO, to find out more: A job in retail? It’s not just any job… | Marks & Spencer (marksandspencer.com)
Find out more about the programmes: M&S Careers (marksandspencer.com)
ENDS
Notes to Editor
*The school leaver/ apprenticeship Retail Leader programme is 36 months, and the business/ graduate programme is 24 months.
To apply for the school leaver/ apprenticeship Retail Leader programme, the applicant needs to have completed their A-Levels/BTEC/NVQ/Level 3 qualifications (or equivalent) by the time they start the programme.
For further information, please contact:
ÂąAbout the Retail Leaders programme
Graduates and school leavers will spend the first 12 months of the programme learning how to manage a M&S store, gradually taking on more responsibility before taking on a management role within just six months.
By the end of the first year, there is the opportunity to take on a bigger store, complete a rotation in another area of the business or even work at one of M&S’ international businesses.
A common career path for colleagues on the Retail Leaders programme could be Deputy Store Manager to Store Manager before becoming an Academy Manager and then moving into a Regional Manager role.
²About the Food Business programme
First, graduates will choose whether they would like to specialise in Commercial or Product. Then they will hit the ground running with a 4-month placement at a M&S store, where they will discover what it takes for food products to reach customers’ baskets.
After time in store, they will move on to a 9-month placement in their chosen specialism. In Product, they will learn how to spearhead pioneering products from concept to shelf. In Commercial, they will learn how to get the right products to the right place at the right time, analysing customer data to forecast and buy product ranges for M&S Foodhalls.
In their second year, they’ll take on two 3-month placements in Supply Chain & Logistics and Online Operations, before finishing with a 4-month placement in one of the broader teams that support the Food business. In Product, that means they could get a taste of forecasting, ordering or allocation, and in Commercial, learn more about product development or marketing.
If they choose to specialise in Commercial, they will finish this programme with the opportunity to continue their career in roles such as Analyst, Supply and Demand Planner, or Buyer. And if they want to be a Product specialist, could look forward to roles such as Space, Range and Display Planner, Product Developer or Food Events Manager.
ÂłAbout the Clothing & Home Business programme
First, graduates and school leavers will choose whether they would like to specialise in Commercial or Product. Then they will hit the ground running with a 4-month placement at a M&S store, where they will learn what makes our Clothing & Home business tick.
After their time in store, they will move on to a 9-month placement in their chosen specialism. In Commercial, this means learning how to get the right stock in the right place at the right time, while in Product, learning how to source the highest quality, most sustainable fashion products at the best prices, from all over the world.
In their second year, they will take on two 3-month placements in Supply Chain & Logistics and Online Operations to better understand the wider business.
And finally, they will have the opportunity to boost their learning with a further 4-month placement. In the Product stream, this placement could be in Marketing, Visual Merchandising or Buying, while in Commercial, they could choose to learn more about Online Operations or Merchandising.
Whichever specialism they choose, they will finish this programme with the opportunity to continue their career in roles such as Assistant Buyer, Assistant Merchandiser, or Online Commercial Manager.
An example of a common path that many graduates or school leavers completing the Clothing and Home Business Programme might take: Assistant Buyer to Junior Buyer to Buyer to Head of Buying.
2023 Corporate