British Land Appoints Three New Retail Path Apprentices At Meadowhall

29th June 2016

British Land has recruited three new apprentices to join Meadowhall, committing to a second year with Retail Path the retail property industry's apprenticeship scheme operated by the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) Educational Trust and National Skills Academy for Retail.

The new apprentices, Samantha Harrison, Ross Faben and Jack Bradley will join Meadowhall Shopping Centre's management team and retailers for the 12-month programme to achieve a Level 2 Apprenticeship in Retail. The year-long programme delivered onsite at Meadowhall by The Source, a member of the National Skills Academy Network will provide the apprentices with a 360-degree perspective of life within a shopping centre. It will aim to give them practical experience in the different specialisms required to efficiently operate a shopping centre, from centre and facilities management to sales. Retail Path is now in its second year and two apprentices who started the programme last year at Meadowhall, Reece Gafaar and Jordan Anderson, have recently graduated and received permanent employment contracts. Reece will be working with the reception careline team, as part of Meadowhall's Management team, and Jordan has been employed as a Customer Service Assistant. Retail Path was set up by the BCSC Educational Trust and National Skills Academy in 2014 to address the issue of youth unemployment and to encourage more young people to consider a career in the retail property industry. Deborah Green, Retail Asset Manager for British Land said: -Retail Path is changing the retail property industry for the better, giving young people from a wide range of backgrounds a clearer understanding of the retail property industry as a viable long-term career option. Not only is the programme a great opportunity for the apprentice, it is also an opportunity for us and the industry as a whole to strengthen our talent pipeline. Darren Pearce, Centre Director of Meadowhall: -We look forward to welcoming Samantha, Ross and Jack to the Meadowhall team. This is their first step into a rewarding life-long career and we will work to ensure they have every possible opportunity to excel in their new roles. And, we are very proud of Reece and Jordan, who have both gone from strength to strength over the past year. Their permanent positions are testament to the hard work they put into their apprenticeships. Meadowhall continues to champion apprenticeships in the retail property industry and we are delighted to be able to help young people get onto the first rung of the ladder and support them in their career development. Peter Drummond, Chairman of the BCSC Educational Trust, commented: -Retail Path is now in its second year and we are delighted to have Meadowhall's co-owner British Land re-commit to recruiting apprenticeships through the industry-wide apprenticeship programme. Samantha, Ross and Jack will all benefit from a robust training programme that will ensure they have every opportunity to develop a fulfilling career in the retail property industry. We are also very happy to be celebrating Reece and Jordan's graduations, and we wish them luck in their future endeavours. Their hard work has been rewarded with permanent contracts at Meadowhall and we are sure they will thrive in their new roles. Retail Path is safeguarding our industry's future, ensuring we remain diverse and competitive in an increasingly changing marketplace, and we encourage more businesses to invest in the programme and the future of our younger generation.