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Central Bedfordshire College and Morrisons PLC in recruitment initiative

Written by Paula Devine | 20 Sep 2012

Over the past couple of months Central Bedfordshire College has built up a strong relationship with Morrisons PLC and the Job Centre Plus.  This has resulted in a worthwhile initiative to train and recruit local people to the new Morrisons store which will open shortly in Houghton Regis.

Following extensive planning, on Friday 27th July Central Bedfordshire College hosted a recruitment day for the new Morrisons store.  Candidates for the vacancies were invited into the College to gain further information on the opportunities available to them at their new local store and to work together with representatives from all three partners to participate in team building activities and to gain information about the training that Central Bedfordshire College.

Candidates selected from this stage were then recruited onto a three-week bespoke training course at the College in order to prepare them for the further selection processes at Morrisons.  This initiative culminated in a presentation ceremony on Wednesday 22nd August, with over 30 candidates completing the course and planning to attend interviews for roles at the new store.  The ceremony was attended by Andrew Selous and representatives from the three partners.

Open days were also held on 29th July and 30th July, hosted by Central Bedfordshire council where over a thousand local people interested in working in the new Morrison’s store, attended. Morrison’s and Jobcentre Plus staff were on hand to provided information and support about the jobs available.

This initiative highlights Morrisons PLCs commitment to working with the local community to recruit local staff to their stores.  By working with Job Centre Plus and Central Bedfordshire College the initiative has enabled candidates to receive training and support even before they are fully recruited as members of Morrisons PLC staff.

Shahin Khan, Assistant Principal at Central Bedfordshire College, commented, “The College is proud to be part of this initiative as it forms part of our commitment to delivering training in the community to meet local needs.  We look forward to building on this relationship with Morrisons PLC and the Job Centre Plus.”

Morrisons PLC added, “We are delighted to work in partnership with Jobcentreplus and Central Bedfordshire College, this is a great opportunity to work in the heart of the community we will serve. The partnership will provide a great support network to help coach train and prepare local unemployed people for jobs at our new store.”

A representative from Job Centre Plus also commented, “Jobcentre Plus understands how important businesses such as Morrison's are to the local and national economies. We are therefore, very pleased to have supported them with their recruitment in partnership with Central Bedfordshire College, to meet the challenging objective of helping local jobseekers into sustainable employment."

For further information about bespoke training delivered in the workplace contact enquiries@centralbeds.ac.uk

Topics: Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, Central Bedfordshire, offices, recruitment, training, News, Uncategorized

Paula Devine

Written by Paula Devine

Paula is Head of Membership and Global Services at Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

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