Mon, 10 Jan 2011
The Co-operative is the latest company to launch a comprehensive apprenticeship programme to help boost skills and employability among its staff.
The staff training scheme will be in the form of an Apprenticeship Academy. Young apprentices will be able to gain basic skills and workplace training through opportunities within the Co-op’s main business activities: food, finance, funerals and pharmacies.
The apprentices will be able to work towards a qualification such as an NVQ, which will help to enhance their employability and boost their productivity for their employer.
The Academy is part of the firm’s wider Inspiring Young People campaign, which is intended to help "reverse the negative image and treatment of those aged 25 and under and support their future life goals and ambitions."
Peter Marks, the Co-operative's Chief Executive, said, "All too often, we see or hear stories which portray youngsters as poorly educated, work-shy and uncaring. As someone who runs a business which employs over 120,000 people, a quarter of whom are under the age of 25, I know this just isn't true."
The firm hopes that through a combination of education, opportunity and campaigning, young people will start to receive the respect they deserve.
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