Jollyes to recruit 150 young people across stores
Under the government’s Kickstart Scheme in England, Wales and Scotland, it is now offering six months paid placements to 16 to 24-year-olds
Jollyes has outlined new plans to recruit 150 young people to work in its stores.
The pet goods retailer said it is looking for staff who will gain a wide range of retail experience as customer advisers, including looking after pets in sites that sell live animals, and assistant groomers to work in its in-store dog grooming service, The Spa.
Under the government’s Kickstart Scheme in England, Wales and Scotland, it is now offering six months paid placements to 16 to 24-year-olds. In addition, placements in Northern Ireland will be available under the JobStart scheme.
Jollyes said it has already received hundreds of applications as it looks to provide one or two placements in each of its stores across the UK.
It has also put together a “comprehensive” induction and training programme that will cover customer services, working on the tills, merchandising and stockroom work, as well as general career development such as writing CVs and doing interviews.
It added that the goal is to equip candidates with skills and experience to boost their job prospects, whether they apply for a permanent vacancy at Jollyes or another employer.
Lucie Coleman, retail operations director at Jollyes, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to help young people in our communities who have a passion for pets to get into a workplace environment.
“In most of our stores they’ll get to work with animals and in all our stores they’ll learn valuable retail and job skills that will help them get on the career ladder. No experience is necessary. We’re looking for candidates who are passionate about pets, willing to learn and friendly.”
The Kickstart recruitment drive is being led by recruitment firm Zachary Daniels, which has been working with Jollyes for five years on recruiting colleagues at all levels.
Partner at the firm, Zac Clements, said: “It’s a dream role for anyone who loves animals, but they will also get training and experience in all aspects of retailing and the world of work that will set them up with skills needed in a wide range of careers.”
Jollyes currently has almost 70 stores across the UK selling food, accessories and pet toys, and many of the stores sell pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, fish and reptiles.