Glasgow local and M&S Braehead colleague Lauren Gibson, aged 27, has been recognised with an award from the King’s Trust for supporting others into work.
Lauren first joined M&S in 2016 through Marks & Start, an employability programme that M&S runs in partnership with the King’s Trust aimed at young people who face barriers to employment. Now almost a decade later, she supports young people through the same programme that kickstarted her career.
Reflecting back on applying to Marks & Start when she was just 17 years old, Lauren said: “I’d just finished school and I had no clue what I wanted to do. I was such a lost soul at that age – I didn’t know what path I wanted to follow, I had low self-esteem and I felt very anxious about the world of work.”
Lauren successfully applied to Marks & Start after finding out about the programme at a King’s Trust job fayre. It saw her undertake a four-week full-time work experience placement at the former M&S Sauchiehall Street store in womenswear, after which she was offered a contract.
Now almost 10 years later, Lauren has been with M&S ever since and has worked across a variety of different departments and stores in the West of Scotland. Today, she trains new and existing colleagues across the region as a Customer Assistant Learner based in Braehead, including delivering the same Marks & Start employability programme that helped launch her career almost a decade ago.
She commented: “The world works in mysterious ways because I now support the young people coming into M&S through the very same programme that got me started all those years ago.
“It’s so rewarding to see the confidence grow in these young people as they go through the programme and come out their shells, just as it did for me. The programme pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me back some confidence in myself. I love that I get to pay it back to the King’s Trust and M&S by coaching more people through the programme – it’s the best part of my job.”
Lauren is the winner of the Young Change Maker Award at the King’s Trust Awards Scotland, which recognises young people who have overcome challenges and chosen to make a positive difference for others. She received her award at a ceremony in Glasgow on Thursday, 22nd January.
Mark Lyons, Regional Learning Partner at M&S and Lauren’s manager, said: “Lauren is an outstanding member of our team, and her award is very well-deserved. She is driven, tenacious and passionate about the Marks & Start programme and does everything she can to make sure these young people have a really growing experience in our stores and get the most out of their time with us. She has so far had an impact on around 100 young people in the West of Scotland who have undertaken the programme.”
Lauren added: “It all feels a bit surreal. I feel proud of myself for getting this far. I’ve been in my current role with M&S for three years now and I do give it my all, so it’s nice to have that hard work recognised.”
Each year, around 100 people in Scotland are accepted onto the Marks & Start employability programme, many of whom are offered a contract at the end of their placement. Run in partnership with the King’s Trust, the programme helps young people gain vital employability skills and practical experience to support them into work.
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