With retail job losses in the UK hitting 140,000 and counting, many leading retailers are swinging open their virtual doors to potential employees this week, with more than 2,000 jobs up for grabs at a two-day virtual hiring event being hosted by job site Indeed.
Morrisons – in the Top 100 of the RXUK Top500 research – joins Lidl and a host of other retailers looking to take on more staff, offering up to 300 roles from warehouse operations to manufacturing operatives. Other companies taking part include Yodel, DHL and UPS who have a further 460 positions to fill.
For employers, the National Hiring Days initiative not only helps connect workers with jobs, but can also do so rapidly, reducing the time to hire from an average of six weeks to a matter of days, with the possibility of on-the-spot offers being made to successful interviewees.
While this event comes at a time where a further 7,200 jobs are at risk of being cut in shops including Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Clarks and Lloyds Banking Group; there are also many roles opening up in distribution. XPO Logistics has created 10,775 jobs in the UK to help fulfil heavy demand from consumers across Black Friday and the Christmas peak, increasing the company’s workforce by 14% since 2019. Similarly, Tesco are set to create 16,000 new permanent jobs to cope with the Coronavirus and Christmas peak in demand.
John Hardman, chief people officer at Yodel comments: “As we prepare for the run-up to Christmas we have a number of vacancies across the business and we’re excited to be working with Indeed to help those looking for their next role. As part of this, we have introduced our virtual interview process, ensuring convenience and safety for all.”
Indeed’s managing director, Bill Richards adds that these are “anxious times” for everyone, but hopes the event will “easily connect jobseekers to employers so that they can quickly find work or make new hires”.
With both the newly imposed Covid-19 measures and rising number of cases in the UK, it is likely that other retailers will need to follow suit and hire virtually.
