Marks & Start

Marks & Spencer is launching a major new programme - Marks & Start - offering up to 10,000 work experience placements to people who may face barriers getting a job.

Marks & Start will become the biggest programme of its kind in the UK and Ireland as well as Marks & Spencer's flagship community initiative. Over the next three years, two-to-four week work experience placements in Marks & Spencer stores and offices will be offered to school children, including those from deprived areas; disabled people; parents returning to work; the young unemployed; the homeless and students who are the first in their family to go to university. The aim of the placements is to give these individuals a taste of life in a working environment and the confidence and ability to get a job.

Marks & Start builds on Marks & Spencer's existing commitment with Business in the Community to offer 600 placements to homeless people. Of the 455 people who have completed this programme so far, over 30 per cent are now employed at Marks & Spencer or elsewhere. Marks & Start also extends the company's long-standing work experience programme for 14-16 year olds by offering more placements to school children from deprived areas.

A report published today by The Work Foundationii highlights the need for more companies to provide placements to help excluded groups find sustained employment. Of the 3.5 million people in the UK who currently want work but do not have a job, homeless people and people with disabilities are among those that face the greatest challenges finding employment.

Marks & Start has also been designed to develop the skills of Marks & Spencer's own employees. Each participant will be allocated a ‘buddy’, a Marks & Spencer employee, who will act as his/her mentor. Over 70 per cent of Marks & Spencer's staff who have already been buddies to homeless people on placement reported that the experience helped to develop their own skills.

Luc Vandevelde, Chairman of Marks & Spencer said:

"Marks & Start will open the door to employment for thousands of people who face particular challenges getting a job. We've already offered many placements to the homeless and we know that practical work experience and being part of a team can boost an individual's self-esteem and their ability to find employment.

"Around 1,000 of our employees will be involved in Marks & Start every year. Being a mentor to someone who's homeless, unemployed or has disabilities can be both challenging and motivating and the experience will develop the skills of our own people.

"Marks & Start now becomes Marks & Spencer's flagship community programme and matches our philosophy of helping others to help themselves. We believe that focusing our resources on one particular area gives us a greater opportunity to make a positive impact in the communities where we operate."

Andy Westwood, Head of Policy Research, The Work Foundation said:
"Marks & Start is a bold initiative to address some of the country's most stubborn social problems. There are still far too many people excluded from the mainstream economic and social life of the UK, and far too few high quality, private sector opportunities for such individuals. Some employers like Marks & Spencer are already engaging with these groups; others should also look at how they can get involved.

"By examining the potential of groups that other employers often ignore, Marks & Spencer has tapped into a valuable source of recruitment and has developed an initiative that will deliver both benefits to its business and to society."

Six individual strands make up Marks & Start each tailored to the needs of its target group but all featuring:

• a two to four week placement either in a Marks & Spencer store or office in UK and Ireland;
the allocation of a buddy (a Marks & Spencer employee) as a mentor to each participant;
• the provision of travel expenses, lunch, a uniform (where necessary) and a reference (where requested).

Anyone interested in applying for a place on Marks & Start can do so at www.marksandspencer.com/marksandstart or by calling 020 7268 4502.

i Marks & Spencer has already committed to offer 600 placements to homeless people over two years (from July 2002-04). This is part of Ready for Work, an initiative of Business Action on Homelessness, part of Business in the Community to offer a minimum of two-week work placements to people affected by homelessness. Business in the Community (BiTC) is a unique movement in the UK of over 700 member companies, with a further 1600 participating in its programmes and campaigns. For more information visit: www.bitc.org.uk

ii The Work Foundation's report - Marks & Start: Opening the Door to Employment assesses the performance and impact of Marks & Start, identifies UK labour market issues and formulates future recommendations for Marks & Start, employers and Government.