Tesco partners with UK-wide charity to provide virtual work experience for young people

Tesco is partnering with Speakers for Schools to offer an ambitious new virtual work experience programme for young people across the UK. Virtual work experiences connect young people with the world of work and open their minds to the possibility of a career in a sector they may not have considered.

In 2020 and 2021, in-person work experience opportunities have slowed significantly which prevents young people from exploring new career paths or connecting directly with employers. Now Tesco has teamed up with the UK-wide charity Speakers for Schools to re-open the world of careers in technology, fashion, property, marketing and finance and introduce them directly to young people. Tesco is offering over 150 work placement opportunities for students across the UK.

Speakers for Schools calls on more employers to open their virtual doors to young people. The charity currently works with over 375 leading employers to give young people invaluable career insights while in-person work experience is not possible. Speakers for Schools works in a range of sectors and employers as varied as energy, technology and finance.

Heidi Isacks, Technology Internal Comms and Events Coordinator at Tesco led the week-long experience and said: “Really pleased to still be able to offer young people this opportunity despite the circumstances.  I found the young people to be incredibly engaged and motivated and asked lots of good questions. They were eager to learn as much as they could from us, and it was refreshing for me to share what I know with young people. I hope the students that took part have learnt something and would now consider a career in my sector.”

Feedback from students has been exceptionally high. One student said “The experience was exceptionally well done, and it’s given me a very wide understanding of the workplace.”

Another student added that “the work experience as a whole was wonderful because of a great team of workers from Tesco. It really opened up opportunities for me and educated me on a lot of things.”

Finally, another student said that “it was very helpful and made me learn about a lot of careers that I did not know. I came here to understand more about business, as I was not that sure about it.”

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive Officer, Speakers for Schools, said: “We are delighted to see top employers like Tesco on board with Speakers for Schools and joining our mission to end educational inequality. We hope more employers join our virtual work experience programme and more schools sign up to broaden the horizons of young people across the UK.”