23 year old Tom Stephens successfully completed our Movement to Work scheme at Asda's Altrincham store

After searching for work for 5 years and getting knocked back by 950 rejections, tenacious Tom Stephens has landed a full-time job at our Altrincham store.Tom, who&rsquo;s 23 and has cerebral palsy, got a place on Asda's new Movement to Work youth training programme. Designed and developed with the help of skills specialist Ingeus, the aim of the 8-week programme is to help 18 to 24-year-olds who are struggling to find work.Tom, who&rsquo;s from Sale, was one of seven young people recruited at our Altrincham store through the programme, which includes three weeks of classroom-based learning and four weeks of work experience. He received such fantastic feedback from colleagues he was offered a full-time role on the checkouts.He said: "I never gave up, but all those rejections really knocked my confidence. The traineeship gave me a refresher in basic employment skills and practical experience of a work environment.“I loved it and was over the moon to get a permanent job. I have belief in myself again and have made so many new friends.”The Altrincham traineeship is the first of 14 running at Asda stores across the UK as part of a scheme called Movement to Work, a voluntary collaboration of UK businesses committed to tackling unemployment through training and work experience. We&rsquo;re aiming to recruit 1,000 young people through the scheme by the end of 2016.Altrincham General Store Manager Tony Rutherford said: "It is great that our store has been able to support the Movement to Work scheme and help some local young people get into full time employment.“The colleagues who have joined us have shown great enthusiasm and willingness to learn and they have become a real asset to the store and to Asda as a whole.“All of the young people we took on after their training period fully deserved the chance to come and work for us and they continue to impress with their attitude and work ethic on the shop floor.”We wish Tom and all those who have or are participating on the Movement to Work scheme the best of luck in future. To find out more about the scheme and how you can apply, check out the <a href="http://www.movementtowork.com">official website</a>.

Tenacious Tom lands a job at Asda after 950 rejections

By Asda Good Living,10th January 2016

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