Retailer John Lewis, famous for their "never knowingly" slogan, announced today that it is taking on eighty apprentices.
Already known for its different outlook towards employees - referring to them and also treating them as "Partners" - John Lewis' apprenticeship scheme also stands out because it guarantees apprentices secure employment at the end of their training.
The programme itself comprises two levels: for those who’ve left school at the age of sixteen, there's the Modern Apprenticeship, while the Advanced Apprenticeship is open to those who have already completed their A-levels.
The Modern Apprenticeship will last for a year, awarding apprentice the equivalent of five GCSEs, while the Advanced Apprenticeship, also lasting one year, will award successful trainees the equivalent of two additional A-levels.
Both apprenticeships will provide trainees with the skills to progress towards the retailer's more senior management roles, challenging them with significant responsibility early on in their training, as they work in a variety of different positions within the company.
Apprentices at both levels have access to all of John Lewis' reward programmes and benefits, as well as automatically becoming Partners.
Over two and a half thousand Partners are awarded vocational qualifications each year, under the company's existing vocational qualification offer, in areas from retail and warehousing to leadership.
John Lewis' Managing Director, Andy Street, says: "Although the jobs market is slowly getting better, we recognise that young people are some of the most affected by unemployment. At John Lewis, we have always employed a large number of young people, but our apprenticeships scheme really formalises this attitude.
"We see this as a primary source of recruitment for future talent and have already been blown away by how savvy the young people from our first intake are."
