Ealing Broadway is calling for young people in Ealing to take their first step into a retail career by registering for its free training programme, Bright Lights.

Bright Lights, which is run in partnership with The Launch Group, aims to give people aged 18-24 a steppingstone into retail through high quality training, advice from industry experts, access to a personal mentor, and support with interviews and CV writing.

During the programme, individuals will learn how retail businesses operate, as well as valuable customer service skills. They will also gain access to interviews at Ealing Broadway in retail, security, and cleaning.

The Bright Lights programme is part of a long-term partnership between British Land and The Launch Group, which aims to support and empower young people to develop their employability skills through various initiatives.

This includes Career Insight Sessions, where young people get the opportunity to speak with hiring managers and find out more about the roles they're offering, as well as interactive opportunities to develop their teamwork skills.

To date, 1,100 people have received employment related support or training through the programme with British Land.

Andrew Rollings, centre director at Ealing Broadway, said: "The Bright Lights programme is a fantastic opportunity for young people to gain invaluable experience in the retail industry, which will not only furnish them with new knowledge and skills but also help them gain confidence in themselves.

"We're so pleased to be able to deliver the programme with our long-term partners, The Launch Group, and to jointly support our local community in kick-starting young people's retail careers."

Claire Fuller, Learner Recruitment Manager at The Launch Group, said: "We can't wait to get started on this programme and help inspire young people into an exciting career in retail - where no two days are the same!

"Our partnership with Ealing Broadway allows us to combine and share our expertise with the community while also providing employment opportunities. We encourage anyone aged 18-24 who is looking for their first or new role to get in touch."

The Bright Lights initiative is a free two-week scheme starting today until the 7th October at Ealing Central Library at Ealing Broadway. Attendees will be accepted until Wednesday 28th September.

If you are interested in attending the scheme, please email [email protected].

For more information on Ealing Broadway, visit https://www.ealingbroadwayshopping.co.uk/

ENDS

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact:

Helen Barnes / [email protected] / 0203 627 4558

Notes to editors

About Ealing Broadway

Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre in Ealing has become a major part of the local community with live music events and street food markets. There are over 70 retail, catering and leisure units and with many niche stores as well as large retailers that attract over 16 million visitors per year.

Shops include Amazon Fresh, GreenKA, Marks & Spencer, H&M, River Island, JD Sports, Pandora, Primark, Next, Decathlon and Boots. As well as well-known brands, there are also many independent stores. Restaurants include Bread Street Café, Wagamama, Turtle Bay, Costa and Starbucks.

Just a two-minute walk from Ealing Broadway tube station and with over 600 parking spaces Monday to Friday rising to over 800 at weekends, a visit to Ealing Broadway couldn't be easier. It also provides courtesy wheelchairs on request and the centre is fully accessible to those with limited mobility.

Ealing Broadway is open Monday – Saturday 9.00am – 7.00pm and Sunday 11.00am – 5.00pm. Store opening times may vary. Food and leisure will be open later – please check retailer websites for further details.

If you'd like to keep up to date with everything that's going on at Ealing Broadway, including all of the latest offers and events, please visit www.ealingbroadwayshopping.co.uk, or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About British Land 

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London Campuses and Retail & Fulfilment assets throughout the UK. We own or manage a portfolio valued at £14.3bn (British Land share: £10.5bn) as at 31 March 2022 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies.

We create Places People Prefer, delivering the best, most sustainable places for our customers and communities. Our strategy is to leverage our best in class platform and proven expertise in development, repositioning and active management, investing behind two key themes: Campuses and Retail & Fulfilment.

Our three Campuses at Broadgate, Paddington Central and Regent's Place are dynamic neighbourhoods, attracting growth customers and sectors, and offering some of the best connected, highest quality and most sustainable space in London. We are delivering our fourth Campus at Canada Water, where we have planning consent to deliver 5m sq ft of residential, commercial, retail and community space over 53 acres. Our Campuses account for 67% of our portfolio.

Retail & Fulfilment accounts for 33% of the portfolio and is focused on retail parks which are aligned to the growth of convenience, online and last mile fulfilment. We are complementing this with urban logistics primarily in London, focused on development-led opportunities.

Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. In 2020, we set out our sustainability strategy which focuses on two time-critical areas where British Land can create the most benefit: making our whole portfolio net zero carbon by 2030, and partnering to grow social value and wellbeing in the communities where we operate.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com