A. F. Blakemore is giving West Midlands Spar retailers the chance to strengthen their workforce, whilst tackling youth unemployment, by supporting City of Wolverhampton Council’s ‘Wolves at Work 18-24’ initiative.
Blakemore’s Helping You Succeed development scheme, which was created in 2019 as an innovative school programme for year seven students, is now being expanded to support the ‘Wolves at Work’ initiative to help young people aged between 18-24 into employment. This follows the group having successfully applied to the council’s City Ideas Fund, which offers a one-off grant of between £500 and £10,000, for city employers and community groups to develop ideas and plans which help young people into jobs and learning.
Ian Diment, group human resources & strategy director at A. F. Blakemore, said: “We are currently working in partnership with the Mind at Work, our leadership programme partner, to develop trainers within the company to deliver the programme, which will be launched in the early part of 2023, in partnership with City of Wolverhampton Council.
“If Spar retailers in the West Midlands are interested in supporting some of the 18 to 24-year-olds on the programme with work experience or job opportunities, we would happily partner with them as it would provide more potential employment pathways at the end of the programme.”
The programme aims to help young people recognise and develop their abilities, as well as developing greater self-awareness in building life skills that can be used within employment, such as self confidence, resilience and team-working. Delegates will be assigned mentors from within the company who can help them in understanding roles that they may be suited for, as well as supporting young people with CV writing and interview skills in improving their employment opportunities, whilst helping to secure the company’s future workforce in growing the business profitably and sustainably.
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