More than 25,000 jobs are currently available within the UK’s multi-million pound supermarket industry, according to a report by the Daily Mirror.
The figure quoted by the newspaper (25,857) consists of full and part-time jobs at all of Britain’s major grocery retailers, plus thousands of other jobs with apprenticeships and training programmes for graduates and school leavers at most chains.
Morrisons is currently looking to hire 1,665 people to work in its newly opened stores in Glasgow, Salford, Wrexham, Wisbech, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Portsmouth.
Asda has around 700 positions available at its stores, ranging from sales assistants and cashiers to opticians and pharmacists, and has also committed to making 6,000 apprentice opportunities available to employees by the end of the year – rising to 25,000 by the start of 2013.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s also have a number of opportunities available on their various training schemes, while the Co-operative Group has promised to deliver 2,000 jobs over the next three years through its newly launched £9m apprenticeship academy.
Anne Seaman of Skillsmart Retail, said: “When hiring new staff, supermarkets look at a candidate’s attitude, willingness to work hard and commercial awareness as much as their qualifications – meaning you can get your foot in the door and on to the career ladder.”
“They are very keen to train and develop their staff. It’s an extremely competitive marketplace and supermarkets know, more than ever, that price alone isn’t enough: great customer service and knowledge of the products on sale are essential.”
She added: “Nearly all the major supermarkets now offer retail apprenticeships and other qualifications, giving plenty of chances to get your skills nationally recognised at work.”
