Tesco has said it will actively seek out army veterans to offer them employment in its stores, after becoming the first supermarket to sign the Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Corporate Covenant.
The retailer said it would also try to recruit spouses and partners of serving personnel at Tesco stores in areas with large armed forces communities.
It is part of a package of measures aimed to support the armed forces and charities like Help For Heroes. “We have a long association with the armed forces dating right back to our founder, Jack Cohen,” said Robin Terrell, UK managing director for Tesco.
Since 2005, Tesco has also raised nearly £30m for Armed Forces charities.
To help boost donations for this year’s Poppy Appeal a Tesco delivery truck will drive across London emblazoned with details about how to donate, and the retailer will donate £10 to the Royal British Legion for every picture of the truck that is uploaded by members of the public on social media.
More than 7,000 Tesco delivery vans will also sport specially designed poppies, and signs on 14 large Tesco stores in garrison towns will have the ‘o’ decorated with a poppy throughout the appeal.
Tesco has set itself the target of raising £4.5m.
Speaking at the signing of the Corporate Covenant, defence secretary Michael Fallon said: “It is great to see one of the UK’s major employers recognise the immense benefits that reservists and former service personnel can bring to the private sector and I am delighted that they will be our first supermarket that has signed up to the Corporate Covenant.”
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