Homebase offers new jobs to Yorkshire’s youth

Hundreds of jobs have been opened up for young people across Britain by Homebase, the first home and garden retailer to join the government’s new Kickstart Scheme.
“As an essential retailer, it’s important for us to give back to the communities in which we live and work”“As an essential retailer, it’s important for us to give back to the communities in which we live and work”
“As an essential retailer, it’s important for us to give back to the communities in which we live and work”

The six-month scheme will include extensive training to give each young person the opportunity to gain both valuable skills and experience. From stock management processes, digital sales, customer relationship management and health and safety processes, to problem-solving, organisation and teamwork, these are just some of the skills that Homebase’s new team members can expect to learn and take with them into their future careers.

There will be at least two roles up for grabs at dozens of Homebase stores in its service support teams, creating opportunities for young people across the country.

The home and garden expert welcomed the first of its new recruits to its store team in the summer. It will be filling 300 placements in 83 of our stores across the country in either the Click & Collect service support teams or the multi-channel service support teams.

“I’m really excited that Homebase is joining the Kickstart Scheme to help the next generation grow. We’re committed to giving back to the local communities that we live and work in and we’re looking forward to welcoming our new team members,” says Neil Hill, Head of People & Leadership.

“We’ve moved away from simply scanning products through the till and we’ve now become the home and garden experts – customers come to us for the advice and inspiration they need to give it a go in their own homes.

“This will continue to evolve, and we need to make sure we’re giving our team the tools they need to help our customers with all their home and garden projects.

“Our new recruits will provide brilliant service and will make shopping in our stores even easier for our customers – they’ll become a core part of our team.”

Neil, who entered the workplace through a government-funded scheme, has a son who will soon be joining the world of work.

He adds: “I know how tough it can be to get into the world of work these days.

“As an essential retailer, it’s important for us to give back to the communities in which we live and work. Kickstart is a fantastic example of this as we’re helping young people take the first step in their career.”

Homebase is proud to be involved in the Kickstart Scheme, providing young people at risk of unemployment with the opportunity to begin their career at a retailer with over 40 years of expertise.

The scheme gives people aged 16-24 the chance to learn valuable new skills, gain real life work experience and build confidence to prepare them to take on the challenges and prospects in the exciting careers that lie ahead of them.

In partnership with The Prince’s Trust, a UK-wide youth charity with 45 years’ worth of experience specialising in youth employability support, Homebase’s new team members will receive support every step of the way, with access to the charity’s network of youth support workers, partners and mentors. The scheme is also funded by Department of Work and Pensions to ensure every young person participating will be guaranteed National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage.

Homebase has 152 stores and 15 standalone Bathstore stores employing over 5,600 people across the UK and Ireland, whose specialist knowledge sits at the heart of the friendly and inspiring service it offers customers.

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