Local MP Celebrates Young People Making Their Mark

Local MP Justin Tomlinson has congratulated graduates of the ‘Make Your Mark’ employment scheme at a ceremony held at Marks & Spencer in Swindon town centre. 

‘Make Your Mark’ is a training and job placement scheme hosted by M&S and supported by the Prince’s Trust. The course aims to tackle the skills and experience gap that is often a barrier to employment for some young people.

The course is open to anyone not in employment, education or training, aged between 16 and 25 aimed at providing vital customer service skills and the chance to work in retail. Those who complete the programme then go onto receive further support in helping to find a job, with many getting the opportunity to stay working with M&S.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: "This is a fantastic programme for which both M&S and the Prince’s Trust deserve heaps of praise. Youth Unemployment has always been tricky to tackle for successive Governments. Thankfully in North Swindon we have seen a dramatic fall of 44.6% since 2010. But this can’t make us complacent. Especially now the Prime Minister has set a target to abolish Youth Unemployment completely. But programmes such as this one really help to offer young people the chance to build on their confidence and develop key skills to help them avoid the unemployment trap."