Co-op apprentice academy launched

The USDAW retail and wholesale union has welcomed the Co-operative Group’s launch of a £9 million Apprenticeship Academy aimed at providing 2,000 jobs over the next three years.

The Co-operative Group says it will offer young people transferable skills, “competitive” salaries and qualifications.

The apprenticeships will run across the wide range of businesses operated with the group which range from food, pharmacy and motors to legal and financial services and farming, as well as many corporate functions such as IT and “the UK’s first ever funeral industry apprenticeships”.