It is close to 1.30pm on a blustery day in Litherland, a suburb of Liverpool, and about 45 people have taken seats in a grand old gothic Methodist mission that has seen better days, huddled between two streets of Victorian terraces. One or two have put on suits, but most are dressed in their everyday clothes and they wait quietly, hoping that the next hour might change their lives.The crowd, about two-thirds of them women, are long-term unemployed and were among about a 1,000 people attending four sessions a day last week seeking a job at a Tesco superstore, due to open in the area in December.Official figures due to be released tomorrow are expected to show the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by at least 40,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate close to 5%. On the broader International Labour Organisation measure, almost 2.3m people were already out of work in April, and the latest figures are expected to confirm that the total is on track to hit 3 million by early 2010.Tesco's recruitment drive is part of what the retailer describes as its "partnership programme". The supermarket chain will hire up to 300 people for the store, currently a white skeleton of girders; half of them will be from among the long-term unemployed, defined by Tesco as anyone out of work for at least six months.The retailer hopes it will embed the idea that the store belongs to the people of Litherland, a deprived part of the city, with long parades of closed shops, their faded signs a reminder of better times.The session gets under way, and Jo Frith, a slightly built powerhouse from Wigan with a white blonde bob, takes to the stage. Frith, who runs the scheme, is part northern club comic, part motivational coach. She joined Tesco as a temp before Christmas, she says; not Christmas just gone, but 29 years ago. "That means I started when I was four," she says, raising a few chuckles.It is difficult not to be impressed as she puts the audience at ease and then works to build their confidence, in part by setting aside some of their worst fears. She peppers the address with stories about people who have been through the programme before. The single mother who feared she had no experience to bring. Nonsense, says Frith, as a mother or carer, you have patience, negotiating skills, you are a doctor and an accountant as you make the household budget stretch – and that is no mean feat sometimes, she says, the audience nodding in assent.Then she tells a story about a man who had worked at the same factory since he was 15 and was made redundant in his 50s. During a presentation, he had stood on stage and admitted that the reason he had been unemployed for the past few years was because he could barely read or write. Frith speaks about his courage and determination and says that, six months after joining the retailer, he was made a team leader. She later says that when she mentions numeracy and literacy in a room of candidates, she can feel people shuffling uncomfortably.Interview trainingThis open day is largely to engage the audience. From here, if they are interested in going further, they are asked to sign up to a three-hour session where they are helped to fill out their application forms and given advice and training on interview skills and literacy and numeracy tests. Many have not had an interview for years, if at all.People who get through the interview go on an eight-week course, teaching retail skills but also "soft" skills such as communication and even how to last for four hours on a checkout without a cigarette. "I had a young girl who swore, just as a matter of course, and she thought we were the odd ones. She'd say, 'Why, what's wrong with it?'," says Frith. "We ended up getting her a swear box, but the people she was on the course with, there were some older ladies there who put a motherly arm around her and kept her on the straight and narrow. Her mum had been alcoholic, her dad was in jail, her boyfriend was in jail; for people who are brave enough and say 'I want a different life', it is very hard. And routine helps to do that. You've got that purpose to get up and go out."She describes the recruitment process as emotional, not just for the people applying for work but for the people running the scheme, a makeshift team of managers from local Tesco stores. Each applicant rejected at the interview stage is offered face-to-face feedback to help them in their next attempt to get a job.The company has run 25 partnership schemes, the first in Leeds 10 years ago, and will decide whether it is appropriate after conducting initial research in potential locations.In each case, the retailer works in partnership with local organisations such as Jobcentre Plus – in Litherland, it has involved
Sefton@Work, a council-run organisation designed to get people into jobs. The Learning Skills Council partly funds the training course and there are council agencies on hand at the open day, offering advice on childcare, back-to-work grants and transport – scooters and bikes are available and transport costs for the course are paid.At the end of the training, there is a graduation, with family and friends invited along. It is vital, says Linda Patterson from
Sefton@Work, that the open day and the training course are held in the community. If they were put on in the centre of Liverpool, people simply wouldn't come.
Sefton@Work has helped to promote the open days, knocking on doors and leafleting, while the local jobcentre answered the phones to book people in.Helping the long-term unemployedTesco is signed up to the government's Local Employment Partnership scheme, launched two years ago to help the long-term unemployed. Other companies that participate include Travelodge, Asda, RBS and HSBC.About 90% of the staff hired for the two most recent Travelodge hotels in London came through the programme, which like Tesco, includes an eight-week training scheme and graduation. "It is not that people can't do the work, it is just often a lack of confidence," says a Travelodge spokesman. The schemes were run by the London Employer Accord, which helps to match companies with the right government schemes and funding on offer. "If the structures are in place, we will do it," the Travelodge spokesman adds. "You will often find that these people are hungry to get back to work. Staff turnover is much lower than usual."The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that 22.8% of jobless people have been out of work for more than 12 months. In 1994, in the wake of the previous recession, the figure reached 44.7%. But it is not clear yet whether actions to combat long-term unemployment in recent years have really been effective. "The test for government policy is how far below 45% we remain at the tail end of this recession," says John Philpot, the chief economist of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. He said the efforts of some employers went unsung. "There are employers like McDonald's, which are not held in the highest esteem, who are targeting employment at communities and individuals largely ignored by other employers, and they possibly go unlauded in that respect."Among the people attending the Tesco recruitment drive, there is at least one mother and daughter. Another young woman, who is 24 and a mother of three, is there with her aunt, who could easily be mistaken for her sister. The one question she never gets, says Frith, is how much Tesco pays.Steve O'Brien, 31, lost his job at a cement works just days before Christmas. It was, he says, last-in, first-out and his turn had come. His jobs have included panel beating, removals and security at Marks & Spencer.I knew it was bad in the building trade, it was gonna come," he says. "We had about 30 lads working for us and before Christmas it went down to about five. I haven't got much of a trade behind me, so it is picking up jobs I can get." What job would he want to do at Tesco? "Anything manual really; I'd like to work on the loading bay. But anything really, anything."Jacqueline Southen, a mother of two, last worked about six years ago. "I have been looking for work but I haven't had much luck. It is quite difficult out there, especially if you haven't worked for a long time, like myself, and you lack qualifications or confidence. There is always someone more experienced. I know people who do work, but I know quite a lot of people who don't work."At the end of the last session of the day, most people have put their names down for the next stage and left, except for one man, still sitting in the middle of the hall, his legs crossed tightly and his shoulders hunched. He suffers, he says in a quiet voice, from anxiety and the effort of coming to the event has apparently triggered an attack. The final stragglers head for the exit and he stands stark upright, bounds quickly to the desk and signs his name.I had three ladies from Woolworths yesterday," says Frith. "One had six years, one had 11 and then one had 24. I just thought, the change in her life. That's been her life for 24 years. It is not just about a job. It is about so many other things than just a job."Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger smaller EmailClose Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note (optional)
