Today marks Scottish Results Day and the annual Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) #NoWrongPath campaign. The campaign aims to inspire and reassure young people receiving their results, showing that there is no wrong path. 

To support the campaign, Movement to Work’s Gemma Davies, Head of Talent and Regional Development, has volunteered her story. 

Gemma joined the Movement to Work team in March 2024 on secondment from Tesco and has worked for Tesco for nearly 19 years. During this time, she has held various roles within stores and, for the past six years, has served as an HR People Partner within the Distribution function.

This is her path.

“I was never particularly academic and finished school not really having any idea of what I wanted to do as a career.

I just about got the grades I needed to go to sixth form to do my A levels but had to re-sit English whilst doing them. I got a part-time job in a Tesco petrol station close to home whilst studying. This was always meant to be a stop gap until I figured out what I wanted to do.

I decided to go to university as I was still unsure what to do as a career, and it felt like the right thing to do. I dropped out of university after a few months as I just was really not enjoying it. My store manager at work had seen something in me that I hadn’t and recommended that I start the options (development) program in Tesco. I thought I would do this while I was figuring out my future.

I learnt quickly and was soon promoted and became full time. An opportunity came up for Tesco to pay for me to study for a foundation degree in retail a year or so later and I was accepted and completed this two-year course alongside my full-time work. Studying felt different this time as I already had a lot of the practical knowledge, I started to enjoy learning the theories and rationale of what I was doing and why I was doing it that way and gave me the courage to challenge things that I thought we could change and improve.

Towards the end of this course, I was also lucky enough to be part of a fast-track academy to become a store manager, the learning and experience I had gained over the last couple of years really supported me to be successful here and I loved my job.

I later decided I fancied a change from retail and was curious to learn new skills and formats, so I went into Distribution as a People Partner (HR). I had no HR qualifications but again was really keen to learn and develop on the job. 5 years later Tesco put me through my HR qualification, and I completed my CIPD experience assessment. This allowed me to gain my qualification on the back of my experiences rather than learning and then going and putting it all into practice.

I would never have been given some of these opportunities had I not already been a Tesco employee as I had no experience or qualifications to do the roles until they invested time, effort and energy and training into me. I feel so lucky for working in an organisation that have given me so much, I was very driven and worked really hard but there were so many people along the way that have helped me, and I am truly grateful for that.

Supporting other people to develop has been one of my biggest passions since I began in a management role. It’s an incredible feeling to see someone grow in confidence and thrive. Choosing the right organisation is key and there are so many great employers out there that offer internal training to really help to support those of us that maybe didn’t get the qualifications we wanted or decided the academic route wasn’t for us. Don’t close yourself off, understand what careers are available within an organisation and how they can support you. Sometimes once you have your foot in the door the opportunities are endless!”

Connect with Gemma on LinkedIn

Over the bank holiday weekend, I took time to reflect on what was an eventful previous week. We had the announcement of the general election, now just 5 weeks away on 4^th July, a wave of election pledges, and the release of some very stark labour market statistics.

As the CEO of Movement to Work, a charity that has spent over a decade tackling youth unemployment, it became clear that we find ourselves in the midst of a polycrisis and I have a responsibility to shout loud for the young people of our nation at this time.

The landscape

The portion of young people furthest from the workplace is growing. The number of NEET (not in education, employment, or training) young people aged 16 to 24 rose to 900,000 from 812,000 a year ago (January to March 2024). The number of economically inactive (not in or looking for work) young people has increased by 297,000 to 3 million, near the highest level since 1992.

The number of opportunities is dropping. Overall, UK vacancies decreased by 26,000 from the previous quarter to 898,000 (February to April 2024), the 22^nd consecutive quarterly decline.

Young people are experiencing the most significant challenges. Reflecting on 15 years of data, The Prince’s Trust Youth Index has shown that young people’s happiness and confidence in their mental health is at an all-time low, and one in five (21%) young people in the UK have missed school or work in the past year due to their mental health. We focus on building accessible programmes that not only improve employability but also consider wellbeing and wraparound support, so that young people have the best chance of success.

Overall, the UK Claimant Count for April 2024 rose by 8,900 from the previous month and by 29,300 from the previous year, reaching 1.58 million. Imagine what we could do if we were able to help people off benefits and into contributing to an economy where they can truly thrive.

The future of a country is measured by its young people, and it is clear they need us more than ever. I am calling on the existing and forthcoming government to work with me and my organisation to save a generation.

How we can help

• Founded by business leaders, Movement to Work has the ability to convene, facilitate and catalyse action through and with employers. Work with us to shape policies that will unlock the potential of business to engage with young people in ways that matter most.
• We can help put young people at the centre of skills shortages, new industries and NetZero ambitions. We know how to design and deliver programmes that will help train young people with the existing and future skills they need to succeed, helping to embolden the UK workforce with fresh talent and ideas.
• Alongside businesses, we collaborate with government departments and youth and training professionals to ensure our strategies make sense. We have a ten-year track record of forging quality partnerships that have helped to deliver over 180,000 youth opportunities with over 89% leading to positive outcomes.
• We offer 100% free support to businesses; all we ask in return is that you join our mission and offer quality opportunities for young people aged 16-30.

What businesses have told us about investing in youth employment strategies: 

• Diverse ideas, people and skills
• Stronger talent pipeline
• Fresh energy and enthusiasm
• Meaningfully delivering on Corporate Social Responsibility

So, reach out to us today and find out more about what we do. Movement to Work is offering its unrelenting support to any government and any business that is ready to invest in young people and build a fairer society.

As one young programme graduate said, “When you help me, you help those who come after me”. Together, we can unleash so much untapped potential and safeguard our collective futures.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to working with you.

Sareena Bains

CEO, Movement to Work

Connect with Sareena on LinkedIn