Sainsbury’s is creating around 10,000 work experience opportunities for young people across the UK as employers face growing pressure to rebuild routes into work.
Sainsbury’s has launched a major new work experience programme designed to give thousands of young people practical exposure to the workplace as concerns grow over the disappearance of traditional routes into employment. The supermarket group’s new KickStarter programme, together with an industry pilot involving The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), will create around 10,000 opportunities over the next year.
The initiative comes as new ONS figures reveal 981,000 16–24-year-olds remain outside education, employment or training – down on the previous quarter but still 30,000 higher than a year ago. Rather than relying solely on a traditional one-off week of work experience, the initiative is designed to give young people repeated contact with employers through practical skills sessions, workplace visits, conversations with employees and employability support.
The programme will be delivered across England, Scotland and Wales, with a particular focus on communities where young people face greater barriers to employment. The announcement provides a timely example of employers taking practical action just days after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned that Britain risks locking even more young people out of the labour market.
As reported earlier this week, the CBI warned that rising business costs are squeezing entry-level jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities, arguing that tackling the youth employment crisis requires businesses to have both the confidence and capacity to invest in the next generation. The Sainsbury’s initiative tackles another part of the same problem – how young people acquire the experience employers increasingly expect them to have before they can get through the door.
KEY FINDINGS
Key findings show that
- Sainsbury’s plans to create around 10,000 work experience opportunities over the next year.
- More than 5,000 places will be delivered through KickStarter Explore for 14–18-year-olds.
- More than 200 places will initially be offered through KickStarter Insights for 16–24-year-olds.
- A further 5,000 opportunities will be delivered through Sainsbury’s programmes following its support for an industry pilot with IGD and The Careers & Enterprise Company.
- The programme will operate across England, Scotland and Wales, with a focus on communities where young people face greater barriers to employment.
- New ONS figures show 981,000 16–24-year-olds were NEET in April–June 2026 – 30,000 fewer than the previous quarter but 30,000 more than a year earlier.
- The NEET rate stands at 13.0%, compared with 13.5% in the previous quarter and 12.8% a year earlier.
- Six in 10 NEET young people have never had a job, according to the government-commissioned Young People and Work review.
- Yet 84% of NEET young people surveyed say they want a job, education or training.
NEARLY ONE MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE REMAIN OUTSIDE WORK OR EDUCATION
Britain’s youth employment challenge remains significant despite a modest improvement in the latest official figures. New data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows an estimated 981,000 young people aged 16–24 were not in education, employment or training (NEET) between April and June 2026. That is 30,000 fewer than the 1.012 million recorded during January to March, bringing the total back below the one-million mark.
However, the longer-term picture remains concerning. The number of young people who are NEET is still 30,000 higher than during the same period last year. The proportion of all UK 16–24-year-olds who are NEET now stands at 13.0%, down 0.5 percentage points on the previous quarter but 0.2 points higher than a year earlier.
The ONS advises caution when interpreting short-term changes because NEET estimates cover a relatively small subgroup of the Labour Force Survey and can therefore be volatile. The latest figures also reveal an important distinction between young people who are unemployed and those who are economically inactive.
Around 393,000 NEET young people were unemployed, while 588,000 were economically inactive. The annual increase has been concentrated among young men. Some 530,000 young men were NEET, an increase of 25,000 on the year, compared with 451,000 young women, up 4,000. The NEET rate among young men stood at 13.7%, compared with 12.3% among young women.
So while the latest quarterly movement is encouraging, it does not fundamentally change the scale of the challenge: almost one million young people remain disconnected from work, education or training and the total remains higher than a year ago. Earlier this year, when the figure passed one million, Fair Play Talks explored the longer-term implications in Britain’s ‘Lost Generation’: One Million Young People Locked Out of Work as Entry-Level Jobs Vanish.
MOST YOUNG PEOPLE WANT TO WORK
The latest figures also need to be considered alongside evidence challenging the idea that young people outside employment or education simply lack motivation. The government-commissioned Young People and Work review, led by former Cabinet minister Alan Milburn, found 84% of NEET young people surveyed want to find a job, education or training. The review also found six in 10 NEET young people have never had a job.
The problem increasingly appears to be one of opportunity, experience and access. The review points to barriers ranging from health and skills to transport, geography, qualifications and lack of work experience. It also highlights how the transition from education into employment has become harder for many young people.
In other words, young people can find themselves expected to arrive in the labour market with experience at precisely the point when some of the routes through which they traditionally acquired it are becoming harder to access.
WHY GETTING THAT FIRST JOB REALLY MATTERS
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “Like so many of us, I started my working life at 16 and know first-hand how much getting that first job really matters. Few things matter more to us at Sainsbury’s than helping young people get on that first rung on the career ladder. With a quarter of our colleagues under 25, we see every day how much a first job can change lives.
“Far too many young people are growing up in the UK today without access to meaningful work experience, often because they cannot find the right connections or network. With nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training, the scale of the challenge facing us has never been clearer. Our new work experience programme will create around 10,000 opportunities over the next year, reaching the young people who need them most in communities right across the UK and helping them build the confidence, skills and experience to take their first step into work.”
Roberts’ reference to “nearly one million” young people now closely reflects the latest ONS estimate of 981,000.
WHEN WORK EXPERIENCE DEPENDS ON WHO YOU KNOW
The reference to connections is significant. Access to work experience has traditionally depended heavily on young people, their parents or schools knowing where to find placements – and sometimes knowing someone prepared to provide one. That inevitably advantages young people whose families already possess professional networks, workplace knowledge and social capital.
Sainsbury’s says too many young people leave education without access to employers, workplace networks or a clear understanding of the opportunities available to them. That makes work experience a social mobility issue, rather than simply a careers issue.
As Fair Play Talks highlighted on Social Mobility Day 2026, Britain’s growing opportunity gap should be a wake-up call for employers. A young person whose parents can arrange a placement in an office, law firm, technology company or professional services organisation begins building networks, confidence and CV experience before formally entering the labour market.
Someone without those connections can be left trying to secure their first job with neither contacts nor previous experience. The underlying question is simple: Should access to the first rung of the career ladder depend on who your parents know?
THE ‘NO EXPERIENCE, NO JOB’ CYCLE
Alan Milburn, who is leading the independent Young People and Work review, said: “For too long work experience has been treated as an afterthought. Yet six in 10 young people who are NEET have never had a job. Employers say lack of experience is the single biggest barrier to hiring young people – and young people say exactly the same. It’s a vicious cycle and it’s holding Britain back. Sainsbury’s is helping break that cycle, reaching the communities where young people face the biggest barriers. It’s exactly the kind of practical action employers can take now, while we build the fuller response this problem demands.”
That vicious cycle can become increasingly difficult to escape the longer someone remains outside employment. As previously reported that one in five young people had been unemployed for more than a year. Long periods without employment can make securing the next opportunity harder still, particularly when employers continue to screen applicants according to previous experience.
There are also indications that some young Britons are increasingly looking elsewhere for opportunity. Separate research found that young Britons leaving the UK in record numbers as youth unemployment rises and entry-level jobs decline.
WHAT WILL SAINSBURY’S KICKSTARTER OFFER?
Sainsbury’s is dividing its programme into two connected pathways aimed at different stages of the journey between education and employment.
KickStarter Explore
The KickStarter Explore initiative, aimed at 14–18-year-olds, will combine in-school learning with practical workplace experience. Co-designed with The School Outreach Company, the programme aims to help young people build confidence, develop workplace skills and discover the breadth of careers available both at Sainsbury’s and across the wider retail sector. More than 5,000 places will be delivered through the programme.
KickStarter Insights
This initiative will target young people aged 16–24. Co-designed and delivered with Sainsbury’s Early Careers team, youth employment charity Movement to Work and specialist partner Aim a Little Higher, the programme will provide regional employability workshops covering communication skills, interviews, applications and preparing for employment.
More than 200 places will initially be available. Participants will also get behind-the-scenes exposure to different areas of Sainsbury’s, including stores, logistics, technology and food. Experiences will include store tours, meeting employees from different functions, seeing how fresh produce reaches shelves and how products move from farm to fork, alongside practical help with CVs, interviews and applications.
RETAIL’S ROLE IN PROVIDING THE FIRST RUNG
The programme highlights the historic importance of retail as an entry point into employment. Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “As the largest private sector employer, retail is a first step on the career ladder for thousands of people every year, building confidence, skills and experience that shapes their futures. Helping more young people be work ready and those who need help breaking out of the no-experience, no-job doom loop is critical to addressing the NEETs crisis. This great initiative is just the start as more retailers scale up the opportunities the industry can provide.”
Retail, hospitality and other customer-facing industries have traditionally provided young people with many of their first opportunities to work. But those entry routes are under pressure. The CBI’s recent report noted that sectors that have historically been major recruiters of younger workers, including retail and hospitality, have seen limited vacancy growth while businesses have become increasingly cautious about recruitment.
The broader skills pipeline is also causing concern. Fair Play Talks recently reported on the TUC’s Skills 2050 project, bringing employers, unions, education providers and skills experts together to tackle Britain’s growing skills crisis.
The project highlighted a 40% decline in apprenticeship starts among 16–24-year-olds over the past decade. Taken together, fewer apprenticeships, disappearing Saturday jobs and increasingly competitive entry-level recruitment risk weakening several of the routes through which young people traditionally moved from education into work.
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT CRISIS ‘IGNORED FOR TOO LONG’
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “The youth unemployment crisis has been ignored for too long. This government is making it a top priority and bringing back hope. Last month we announced a shake-up of the education system, with the launch of new prestigious technical educational routes. Now we’re bringing employers, schools and colleges together to close the gap between the classroom and the workplace.
“It’s great to see Sainsbury’s stepping up with 10,000 opportunities a year to help young people build confidence, gain experience and get a foot in the door. I encourage more businesses across the country to do the same. Access to opportunity and work experience shouldn’t depend on who you know, it should be within reach for every young person wherever they live – and that’s what I’m determined to deliver.”
The emphasis on employers, schools and colleges working together echoes one of the strongest themes emerging from both the CBI and Milburn reports: Britain’s youth employment problem cannot be solved by any one institution acting alone. Employers ultimately create jobs and workplace experience. But education providers, training organisations, government and local communities all influence whether young people can access them.
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO WORK
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I know from personal experience, that work experience is often the first taste of the world of work for a young person, and everyone should be able to access placements, regardless of their background or circumstances. With around one in eight young people not in education, employment or training, I’ve made tackling youth unemployment a top priority, by investing in skills training and mentoring. As one of the country’s largest employers, with hundreds of branches across London, it’s great to see Sainsbury’s stepping up and launching 10,000 work experience opportunities for young people. My first experience of work was in retail. Programmes like this are vital for breaking down the barriers to work and building skills and confidence to thrive, as we continue to build a better, more prosperous capital for everyone.”
London is already examining how these challenges may be intensified by artificial intelligence. Fair Play Talks recently reported on the Mayor’s £30 million plan to help workers and businesses prepare for AI, after the London AI and Jobs Taskforce examined how technological change could reshape employment across the capital.
AI COULD MAKE WORK EXPERIENCE MORE IMPORTANT, NOT LESS
Britain’s youth employment challenge is unfolding alongside another major transformation in entry-level work: artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, research found one in five companies had stopped hiring entry-level workers because of AI. More recent research found two-thirds of workers believe AI is reducing entry-level hiring.
This creates an important paradox. AI can increasingly perform some of the routine administrative and junior tasks traditionally allocated to people at the start of their careers. But those tasks historically provided something technology cannot replace – a place to learn how work actually works.
Entry-level employees learn how to communicate with colleagues and customers, resolve problems, deal with setbacks, exercise judgement, manage competing demands and understand organisational culture. If organisations automate too many junior opportunities without creating new pathways into their businesses, young people risk losing access to that informal learning.
That makes meaningful work experience potentially more important as AI advances – not less. The same issue emerged in Fair Play Talks’ recent coverage of Google and Big Brothers Big Sisters expanding youth mentoring as AI reshapes entry-level jobs. Mentoring, work experience and direct employer contact can provide young people with professional knowledge, confidence and networks that become more valuable as traditional entry routes narrow.
EARLY CONTACT WITH EMPLOYERS CAN OPEN UP CAREERS
Sarah Bradbury, Chief Executive at IGD, said: “Early interactions with employers are vital for opening young people’s eyes to the breadth of career opportunities available and helping prevent them from becoming NEET. We called for food and drink businesses to explore the delivery of modern work experience as part of our Feeding Britain’s Future industry-wide movement and we’re delighted that Sainsbury’s has led the way, becoming one of the first businesses to turn that ambition into action through its new Modern Work Experience Programme. Together, we can help more young people understand the careers that exist across food and drink and take their first steps towards a rewarding future.”
Alongside KickStarter, Sainsbury’s is a founding participant in a separate pilot involving the CEC, IGD and other retailers to develop a new industry approach to work experience for 14–18-year-olds. The pilot will help inform plans to expand opportunities across Sainsbury’s store network from 2027.
The initiative demonstrates another advantage large employers possess: scale. A national organisation with stores, offices and operations across the country can potentially reach young people in communities where professional workplaces and opportunities may otherwise be relatively scarce.
MORE FLEXIBLE AND INCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITIES
John Yarham, CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: “Every young person deserves access to high-quality modern experience that gives them a pathway to opportunity, regardless of who they know or where they live. “We’re proud to partner with Sainsbury’s and IGD to create more flexible and inclusive opportunities in the food and drink industry. With its scale and reach into communities across the country, Sainsbury’s can make a real difference, helping thousands of young people build the skills, confidence and connections they need to take their best next step.”
That language closely echoes the CBI’s recent Opportunity in Every Postcode report. Both initiatives ultimately raise the same issue: Access to opportunity should not be determined by postcode, family income or professional connections.
WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE SAY THEY NEED
Importantly, the programme also includes the perspectives of young people themselves. Ava, Rylie, Faris and Jonathan, members of The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Youth Advisory Group, said: “Every young person should have the chance to experience the world of work, but not everyone has access to opportunities or connections. High-quality, modern work experience can open your eyes to careers you didn’t know existed and help you build skills, confidence and your network for the future. It’s great to see Sainsbury’s creating thousands of opportunities for young people to discover what’s out there and see where their skills could take them.”
Their comments reinforce one of the strongest themes running through the Sainsbury’s initiative and the wider evidence on youth employment: work experience is not simply something to put on a CV. It can provide young people with social capital – contacts, knowledge of workplace expectations, exposure to careers they may never previously have considered and the confidence to see themselves in those workplaces.
For young people growing up without family members or existing professional networks able to provide that access, structured employer programmes can therefore play an important role in helping to level the playing field.
THE MODERN WORK EXPERIENCE
Sainsbury’s describes its approach as “modern work experience” because it moves away from treating exposure to an employer as a single isolated week. Instead, young people can have repeated interactions over time – from practical skills sessions and meeting employees to workplace visits and careers support. Research cited by Sainsbury’s suggests that repeated, meaningful engagement with employers while at school can significantly reduce the risk of a young person becoming NEET. The broader principle is important.
A placement should not simply allow an employer to record that it hosted a certain number of young people. High-quality work experience should leave participants with something tangible they did not possess before: skills, confidence, contacts, knowledge, experience for their CV or a clearer pathway into employment.
WHAT CAN OTHER EMPLOYERS LEARN FROM SAINSBURY’S?
Ten thousand opportunities from one company cannot solve a national youth employment challenge. But the initiative demonstrates several practical steps other organisations could adopt. These include:
Make entry-level jobs genuinely entry level
Employers should review whether they are asking candidates to have previous professional experience for jobs that could realistically be learned after recruitment. Young people cannot acquire experience if every employer expects somebody else to provide it first.
Create experience before you need to recruit
Work experience should form part of longer-term workforce planning rather than simply being viewed as a CSR activity. Today’s school student or work-experience participant could become tomorrow’s apprentice, employee, specialist or manager.
Reach beyond existing networks
Simply advertising opportunities can reproduce existing inequalities if the people most likely to find and apply for them already possess better networks. Working directly with schools, colleges, charities, youth employment organisations and communities with fewer opportunities can broaden access.
Make work experience meaningful
Young people should meet employees, learn about different occupations, practise workplace skills and receive useful feedback. A week spent largely observing or carrying out low-value tasks is unlikely to have the same impact.
Recruit for potential
A short CV at 18 or 20 is not evidence of limited ability. Skills-based hiring and assessments of aptitude, transferable capabilities and potential can help organisations identify talent that conventional experience-based recruitment overlooks.
Check whether AI is impacting entry-level opportunities
Employers should examine not only whether AI can automate junior work, but what eliminating that work means for the future talent pipeline. AI-enabled recruitment also deserves scrutiny. Automated screening, recorded interviews and complex digital assessments may improve efficiency, but employers should assess whether they inadvertently disadvantage applicants with less experience, fewer resources or limited familiarity with professional recruitment.
Collaborate and build partnerships to support recruitment goals
One striking feature of Sainsbury’s approach is the number of organisations involved – including employers, youth organisations, schools and specialist partners. The wider evidence from the CBI and Milburn review similarly points towards collaboration between businesses, education providers, charities, government and young people themselves.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
Sainsbury’s announcement matters beyond the 10,000 opportunities it promises to create. It provides a practical response to a much larger question raised by the CBI, Alan Milburn’s review and Britain’s continuing youth employment challenge: Who is responsible for creating the first rung of the career ladder? Government has a role through education, skills policy and the economic conditions businesses operate within.
Schools and colleges have a role in preparing young people for working life. But employers ultimately control something neither government nor educators can provide on their own: real access to the workplace. That access is becoming more important as traditional early-work opportunities decline, apprenticeships contract, recruitment becomes more demanding and AI begins reshaping the junior work through which previous generations gained experience.
And the consequences of failing to provide it will not be borne solely by young people. Businesses already worried about future skills shortages cannot indefinitely reduce opportunities for inexperienced workers and then expect a ready-made supply of experienced employees several years later.
GENUINE “FIRST CHANCE” OPPORTUNITIES MATTER
The CBI’s warning focused on creating economic conditions that allow employers to invest in young people. Sainsbury’s announcement demonstrates the other side of that equation: what employers can choose to do with the scale, resources and reach they already possess.
The latest ONS figures offer some welcome quarterly improvement. But with 981,000 young people still outside education, employment or training – 30,000 more than a year ago – the underlying challenge has hardly disappeared.
Ten thousand work experience opportunities will not solve it. But if more employers follow, they could help rebuild something the labour market has been steadily losing – a genuine first chance.
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