Sainsbury’s has welcomed the first cohort of FutureMaker graduates, marking the launch of its new flagship graduate programme.
The two-year programme offers 50 graduates a development pathway with three rotations across the business, including data and analytics, digital and AI, commercial acumen, customer understanding and transformation. Each graduate will be supported by a trained line manager and a buddy.
“What that’s giving them is real hands-on experience from day one in the business, working as part of teams with leaders and really focused on future skill areas,” Sainsbury’s director of talent, performance and leadership Kat Sherwood told The Grocer.
“Graduate schemes can be made up in lots of different ways depending on the organisation but we felt those three rotations give people a really broad, rounded experience of Sainsbury’s. At the end of the two years, they can apply for a job in Sainsbury’s and could go into any part of the business.”
Over the duration of the two years, the graduates will take part in various virtual and in-person workshops. “In some of those areas, they could be working on technology transformation, or on a new product launch. If they’re coming into the people and culture team, they might be working on a change project,” Sherwood explained.
“There’s no boundary as to what we will give them because they’re coming in to do real work that is live and in the business. Retail is changing so fast and we need to cultivate future leaders that really understand the whole business so that they’ve got a really good end-to-end view.”
For this initial cohort, Sainsbury’s received 16,000 applications. “It shows how important it is that we do this and that Sainsbury’s is a really valued proposition in that graduate market,” Sherwood said.
“Socially and morally it’s really important that we’re seen as an employer investing in young people in a multitude of different ways.”
Recruitment for the 2027 cohort will open in February.
FutureMaker forms part of the supermarket giant’s broader early careers and talent programmes, including the recently launched Modern Work Experience Programme, KickStarter.
This programme will create around 10,000 opportunities for young people alongside a new industry pilot with The Careers & Enterprise Company, the Institute of Grocery Distribution and other retailers.
KickStarter is split into two pathways to support young people at different stages, with the first pathway, KickStarter Explore, open to 14 to 18-year-olds.
“Whilst work might be years and years away for some, you’re creating those really meaningful experiences,” Sherwood said. “The most important thing is we’re trying to get the breadth. Rather than just focusing on one thing, we’re trying to be quite purposeful and thoughtful about what we do, how big we do it and where we go.”
No comments yet