1. The Work Programme & Greggs Plc
Karen Walker
Resourcing Manager
Greggs Plc

2. About Greggs 1,585 shops across the UK Ten regional bakeries
1 central savoury production plant
1 specialist confectionery bakery
2 distribution centres
20,000+ employees
A growing business – we will recruit 800+ new people in next 12 months

3. Our company Values define what we do…
We will be enthusiastic and supportive in all that we do,
open, honest and appreciative,
treating everyone with fairness, consideration and respect

4. Since June 2011…
44 voluntary work experience placements offered via JCP
7 graduate and 4 undergraduates on 2-year programme
5 work placements for young people through BBC3 ‘Up for Hire’ programme
10 young apprentices recruited in 2011
Employed 4 people from Business Action on Homelessness
Recruited 27 people in London and the South through A4E and Avanta, giving jobs to long term unemployed people
3 women ex-offenders employed from HMP Styal and HMP Low Newton

5. Partners help drive success

6. Why tackling unemployment is absolutely critical to us…
Young people form 1/3 of our workforce, circa 7, year olds at Greggs
People tend to stay at Greggs for a long time once they have joined us
Unemployed people are our customers as well as potential employees
New people add quality, vibrancy and richness of ideas to our workforce
We have a wider pool of available candidates to choose from
This is high on our agenda

7. The Greggs experience
Firstly, we believe that there is definitely a place for Work Providers (experience, knowledge and access)
Too many Providers out there – all offering the same thing
It makes it appear confusing
It wasn’t easy to tune in at first ...
We wanted a simple process and one way of working throughout our business
We have developed a close partnership with JCP
We decided to work with one main Work Provider and consolidate other partners

8. The Greggs experience
We had many unsuitable candidates put forward that we were unable to progress
We then knew that we needed to spend time setting up the partnership
We looked at:
what we are looking for in a candidate
the type of work they would do
our culture v best fit
our recruitment process
We now have a good relationship with our Provider

9. The Greggs experience They tailored their process to meet our needs
They are extremely responsive to our needs
Small trial initially - now moving to a national roll-out
Funding process isn’t as smooth / timely (Youth Contract)
Funding for Providers is about getting someone into work, but not necessarily with the same employer
Sustainability is our agenda
We have recruited 64 people (10% of our new recruits) via Work Providers in the last 12 months – lots of successes and great feedback

10. Challenges and opportunities of private sector engagement
We need the best talent available – job-ready candidates with the right attitude
We need to seek out talent and engage with people who might not progress through normal channels
It’s a tough climate for businesses – there are not as many opportunities available
We therefore need to be efficient, effective and work as a team
A single point of contact helps (and possibly a database so other Providers know who our partners are)
Clarity re: funding