Tesco to offer 1,500 apprenticeships by 2027

Tesco is expanding its Stronger Starts Apprenticeship programme, introducing five times more places in 2025 and targeting 1,500 apprenticeship opportunities for young people by 2027.

Following its initial cohort of 82 apprentices last year, the grocer is increasing its intake to 450 places this year.

Tesco subsidiary One Stop convenience stores is also launching 10 Stronger Start apprenticeships for the first time.

Designed in collaboration with Lifetime Training and the King’s Trust, participants of the 15-month programme will receive training which combines hands-on experience with academic qualifications.

Participants will receive the equivalent of five GCSEs, as well as functional skills qualifications in maths and English for those requiring them. All participants also have the chance to become permanent Tesco employees.

Tesco chief people officer Emma Taylor said: “The Stronger Starts programme exemplifies how quality training can help young people make a positive start in their careers and gain essential skills and qualifications.

“By expanding this initiative, we’re giving even more young people the tools and confidence they need to build a brighter future.

The UK’s biggest grocer also urged the government to publish a timetable for its Growth and Skills levy, set to replace the apprenticeship levy.

Taylor continued: “To unlock the full potential of programmes like Stronger Starts, we need a skills training system that’s fit for purpose.

“The Growth and Skills Levy represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform how training is funded and delivered. With greater flexibility, we could extend our reach and create even more opportunities for those who need them most.”

In May, Tesco was one of several retailers pushing for an overhaul of the “broken” apprenticeship levy claiming that the current scheme was a “complete waste of money”.

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