High street retailer Marks & Spencer has committed to train and support a further almost 2,000 hard to reach young people through its Marks & Start programme over the next three years as part of an ambitious multi-year strategy with The King’s Trust.

M&S is this year celebrating 20 years of Marks & Start, a programme which helps those who face barriers to employment gain their first crucial step on the career ladder. In that time, the scheme has supported over 30,000 people get into employment, including 12,000 young people facing barriers to work through M&S’ partnership with The King’s Trust.

Today, over half a million young people in the UK are unemployed but eager to work yet new insight from M&S reveals that two thirds of young people still face barriers to employment*. Mental health is one of the biggest barriers for young people getting into work with one in three saying it’s a challenge.

Last year, M&S established its biggest ever charity partnership with YoungMinds, which after its first year raised over £2.6 million to support young people, with a target to raise £5 million within three years. With 30% of young people signalling that employment, and a sense of stability, has a positive impact on their mental health, M&S wants to go one step further to break down employment barriers and get more young people – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – into a career in retail.

Marks and Spencer CEO Stuart Machin is championing collaboration as the key to breaking down some of the barriers faced by those furthest from employment and helping them take that first step on the career ladder.

He said: “As a young boy of 16 years old, I started my career in retail, working part time on weekends and in the evening doing trolleys, working on the checkout serving customers and replenishing shelves. Work gave me purpose as well as pocket money.

“As one of the UK’s biggest retail employers, it’s our responsibility to help young people into work – especially those furthest from employment who might need extra support. But we can’t do it alone; that’s why we partner with The King’s Trust and Young Minds, brilliant organisations that really understand the help young people need.

“The success of Marks and Start over twenty years shows the difference that partnership can make – together with The King’s Trust we’ve helped 12,000 young people into work and in doing so, changed thousands of lives. Too many young people in the UK face barriers to getting a job, but if we work together, we can change that.”

M&S is keen to take a leadership role on this important agenda and will be working with MPs from all parties, Metro Mayors and the new Government to explore ways to make it easier for businesses to create employability schemes and help more young people into work.

Marks & Start is tried and tested to offer opportunities to those previously facing barriers to employment, with four out of five participants who have completed the scheme going on to have a career at M&S. The programme equips young people with essential skills they need to navigate their first roles, from CV building and interview preparation through to money management.

For many, the retail industry – which currently employs over 2.8 million people** – is a gateway to employment, with millions of people gaining their first experience of a working environment from a job in retail, including M&S’s Chief Executive, Stuart Machin who started his career aged 16 in his local supermarket.

Jonathan Townsend, CEO at The King’s Trust, said: “Young people continue to face significant challenges to their employment prospects but there are so many young people who are ready to work and just need an additional support to make that happen. We rely on partners like M&S who invest in young people and create accessible routes to employment, helping us to achieve our mission of building the confidence and skills of young people who need us most. M&S have been a driving force behind our employability initiatives and we are so proud of our long-standing partnership, celebrating 20 years together to support 12,000 young people. With their pioneering approach and embedding our work across their organisation, we are able to remove employability barriers for thousands of young people helping to transform their futures.”

Umay Nadeem, Marks & Start participant said: “Battling poor mental health since childhood, and coming to terms with being neurodivergent, added barriers to everyday tasks, such as job interviews that seemed impossible. But the Marks & Start scheme offered the support I didn’t even know I needed. The confidence-building, and care helped me understand my worth. Marks & Start isn’t just an employability programme — it’s a lifeline. It’s not giving young people a job, it’s giving young people the chance to change their lives, find their purpose, and contribute to society.”

Laura Bunt, Chief Executive at YoungMinds, said: “M&S’ research echoes what we know about young people struggling with their mental health and the barriers they face when it comes to work. Young people are experiencing multiple pressures, including poverty, inequality, intense academic pressure and the online world and the lack of early mental health support means they’re becoming more unwell. Through our partnership with M&S, we will continue breaking down barriers to show young people they’re not alone with their mental health, providing vital guidance and advice, and reaching more young people.”