Up to 50 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit from work experience in bp’s UK retail sites over the next 12 months.
Commitment to offer at least half of the participants a permanent contract, with 11 offered so far.
Partnership attracts external talent to support bp’s store recruitment strategy, filling resource gaps and to help build our future resource pipeline.
bp has entered into a partnership with The Prince’s Trust that will help up to 50 disadvantaged young people get into paid work across four programmes in the next year. A comprehensive ‘Get into Retail’ programme, designed by bp and The Prince’s Trust, will give participants valuable work experience, complemented by employability training.
The partnership kicked off in May 2023 with an initial cohort of seven young people, put forward by The Prince’s Trust, taking part in the ‘Get into Retail’ programme in the Milton Keynes area. The second cohort completed their work experience in November 2023 around south London. To date 11 of the 14 participants have secured permanent employment with bp.
The next two ‘Get into Retail’ programmes will run in North London in January and in Kent in March 2024. To learn more about The Prince's Trust and to sign up, please visit www.princes-trust.org.uk/contact-us.
Social mobility at bp
In 2022, bp launched the Social Mobility Framework for Action, to help break down barriers so all can thrive regardless of background.
bp believes that improving the representation, inclusion, retention, and advancement of employees from diverse social backgrounds will contribute to it becoming a more competitive company and even better place to work.
As part of the social mobility framework for action, bp has included an ambition to deliver over 500 annual work experience opportunities world wide by 2024. With a focus on social mobility outreach, we are aiming to create immersive, hands-on experiences, centred around building skills for the future, such as this partnership with The Prince’s Trust.
About bp
bp’s purpose is to reimagine energy for people and our planet. It has set out an ambition to be a net zero company by 2050, or sooner and help the world get to net zero, and a strategy for delivering on that ambition. For more information visit bp.com.
About The Prince’s Trust
The Prince’s Trust believes that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter what their background or the challenges they are facing. We help those from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity by supporting them to build the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn.
The courses offered by The Trust help young people aged 11-30 to develop essential life skills, get ready for work and access job opportunities. We support them to find work because having a job or running a business can lead to a more stable, fulfilling life.
Since The Trust was founded by HM The King in 1976, when he was HRH The Prince of Wales, we have helped more than a million young people across the UK, and three in four of those we supported over the last five years have moved into work, education or training.
We are committed to enabling even more young people to create a better future for themselves. By helping young people today, the benefits for them, their communities and the wider economy will be felt for years to come.
Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800 842 842.
bp press office London, bppress@bp.com, +44 7831 095541, +44 7919 217511