Ten of our Year 11 students have recently spent the day shadowing store colleagues at Asda in Bishop Auckland as part of a project looking at employability skills. The project was organised by Mrs Dent, our Director of Career Pathways and Progression Tutor, Ms Goddard.

The day-long training session, which focused on opportunities to develop skills and progress within a large company from an unqualified entry level, was the culmination of a series of half-day visits which have been taking place since the beginning of the academic year. The group were given an excellent overview of the host of job roles and departments that are needed to ensure the smooth running of a national store, from warehouse logistics and security to finance and customer services. Students learned that the organisational structure goes far beyond the Asda colleagues that are a visible presence in the store itself.

The session involved team building exercises and discussions in which students learned about the personal skills that Asda look for when considering applicants, alongside opportunities to try a variety of practical tasks. They also heard the inspiring career progression story of Morris Goldsborough, who was store manager at the time; Mr Goldsborough joined Asda as a trolley collector at age 16 and worked his way up with the company to eventually becoming the manager at Bishop Auckland, which is the highest performing store in the North East.

We would like to thank Asda for their continuing support throughout this project; it has provided our students with a valuable insight into a career in retail.