Helen Dickinson

Creating the win win for employers and for the young

With one in five people starting their careers in retail, it is Britain’s biggest pathway into work. Around 780,000 under-25s already work in our industry, while retail and its supply chain account for almost a quarter of all youth employment in the UK. Few sectors are better placed to help people take their first steps into work and build lasting careers.

The industry’s role in helping people into employment has never mattered more. Yet it’s ability to provide those opportunities is coming under increasing pressure.

That is hardly surprising.In just 14 months, changes to employer National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage have added £6.5 billion to retailers’ employment costs. Global instability and pressure on household finances have only made the trading environment more uncertain.

This matters because retail is where millions of careers begin. It is where a part time job combined with study becomes a first promotion opportunity, where customer service becomes leadership, and where a first pay packet becomes the foundation of a lifelong career. Those opportunities only exist if businesses have the confidence to keep creating them and young people are ready to step into these roles.

Every day, our industry equips millions of people with the skills, confidence and experience that underpin successful careers. The flexibility retail offers is one of its greatest strengths. More than half of retail jobs are part-time, with people actively choosing those hours because they fit around study, caring responsibilities or other commitments. For many, that flexibility is what makes a first job possible and what allows them to develop new skills, take on greater responsibility and build a career.

Businesses need the confidence to recruit, train and invest in people. That means government ensuring the overall policy environment supports growth rather than adding unnecessary cost and complexity. Making sure the Employment Rights Act targets the unscrupulous, not the responsible businesses that create jobs must be part of that plan.

And it means great charities like the Kings Trust supporting both the young and employers to ensure young people from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity build the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn.

Retail has long been one of Britain’s greatest engines of opportunity. With right government actions and the help of organisations like the King’s Trust it can remain the place where lasting careers begin.

We cannot afford to close that door.