Sainsbury’s to create 10,000 work experience places for young people: Ages, dates and how to apply
Key Points
- Sainsbury's will create around 10,000 work experience places from October 2026
- KickStarter Explore covers 14 to 18-year-olds through schools
- KickStarter Insights covers 16 to 24-year-olds through regional workshops
- Schools sign up via [email protected] from September
- 16 to 24-year-olds apply direct via [email protected]
Sainsbury’s will open around 10,000 work experience and skills places for 14 to 24-year-olds across the UK from October, with schools able to register from September.
The supermarket is running the scheme under the name Modern Work Experience Programme, and splits it into two strands by age.
KickStarter Explore covers 14 to 18-year-olds and combines in-school learning with practical placements in stores, co-designed with The School Outreach Company. It is pitched at building workplace confidence and showing what retail careers involve.
KickStarter Insights covers 16 to 24-year-olds through regional employability workshops run by Sainsbury’s Early Careers team and specialist partner Aim a Little Higher, focused on communication skills, interview preparation and job applications.
Participants across both strands will take part in workplace visits, careers sessions and sessions on CVs and applications, covering roles in retail, logistics, food, technology and business.
Sainsbury’s has not said whether the placements are paid.
Who the programme targets
The scheme runs in England, Scotland and Wales, with no mention of Northern Ireland in the announcement.
Sainsbury’s will prioritise communities with a high proportion of schools offering free school meals and high numbers of young people out of work and education.
The retailer employs more than 140,000 people, and says a quarter of its colleagues are under 25.
“With a quarter of our colleagues under 25, we see every day how much a first job can change lives,” said Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive.
How to sign up
Schools apply to KickStarter Explore by emailing [email protected].
Individuals aged 16 to 24 interested in KickStarter Insights should contact [email protected].
Advertising for both programmes starts in September through The School Outreach Company and Movement to Work, with the first events in October.
A separate pilot with The Careers & Enterprise Company and the Institute of Grocery Distribution will test work experience formats for 14 to 18-year-olds, which Sainsbury’s could extend to more stores from 2027.
The announcement follows government reforms to technical education routes for 14-year-olds and a £5 million National Grid programme announced earlier this month covering 5,000 young people.
Office for National Statistics figures put the number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training at 1.012 million between January and March 2026, or 13.5% of that age group. The ONS publishes updated figures on Thursday (27 August).
