Tesco – Let’s Join Forces!

Off By Mia Craven

Tesco has a proud history of supporting Service-leavers and Veterans.

In 2018, four years after becoming the first retailer to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award holder, Tesco, decided to refresh and renew its pledge by signing the Covenant again. At the time, it had a healthy internal Armed Forces Network of around 300 employees. Today it has around 20,000, signalling a deep commitment to supporting the Forces community.

All of the pledges made that day have been fulfilled, from supporting Veterans who have left the Armed Forces with employment opportunities at Tesco and aiding spouses and partners of Serving personnel also to get jobs at Tesco stores, through to promoting the Reserves to colleagues and ensuring flexibility around life changes due to partners’ Military service, so that colleagues are not disadvantaged. Even so, Tesco is determined to do more.

Biggest employer of Service-leavers in the UK
According to figures produced by employment website, Indeed.com, almost one percent of Veterans join Tesco as a post-Forces employee; a truly staggering statistic. If it isn’t already, Tesco is aiming to be the number one employer of choice for Service-leavers and Veterans.

Worth remembering, is that there are no obligations for companies and organisations to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, let alone choose to apply its spirit to such wide policymaking as Tesco does. Indeed, with a continuing cost of living crisis to contend with, the retail environment is arguably at its most competitive for many years. Even so, aside from its Military network, Tesco also works with partners like Help for Heroes, the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), Troopr, Salute My Job and Forces Family Jobs to support Veterans in their transition to civilian life.

Transferable skills
Although, Tesco clearly has a genuine respect and admiration for Veterans, it’s also the case that their relationship with Service-leavers provides them with a range of benefits. First among these are the valuable transferable skills that Service-leavers bring with them. Savvy employers such as Tesco realise how valuable Military training and experience is, if applied properly. To this end, you’ll find that skills and attributes such as communication, planning and strategy, eye for detail and of course, leadership, are prized above those that other candidates might present. If there’s a tip among this information, it’s to carefully look at your CV and start to deconstruct any Military jargon that lingers on there but that may well confuse civilian recruiters.

Far from aiming to profiteer from the situation. You’re likely to find that for comparable responsibilities, Tesco is prepared to pay much more for your talents than you received in the Armed Forces.

The jobs Service-leavers are looking for
Again, according to Indeed.com, among the most popular civilian roles for Military candidates, are roles like truck driver, driver, warehouse worker or administrator. Naturally, as a business that relies heavily on organisation and logistics (in a very similar way as the Military does) Tesco has a variety of roles in those areas. Furthermore, it’s a truism that many Service-leavers actively seek to aquire jobs that are closely aligned to their Military trade role (perhaps explaining why Tesco is already a popular choice for former Armed Forces personnel with relevant experience).

Elsewhere in the business, it seems clear that roles relating to IT and cybersecurity, etc, also have potential as post-Forces career choices with Tesco – not least because of recent issues with several large supermarkets having experienced painful cyberattacks.

Advantages
Tesco consistently ranks as the largest retail company in the UK, so it’s worth considering the potential advantages this presents to you as a Service-leaver looking for a solid and satisfying post-Forces career. Firstly, it’s clear that Tesco continues to be an iconic and integral part of the British economy and is likely to provide job security and decent opportunities for career development and advancement. Among them might be a chance to specialise and seek promotions or to take on further responsibility in return for increased remuneration.

Add to all this a genuine relationship with the Forces community and it’s clear that Tesco has much to offer Service-leavers and Veterans prepared to live up to the reputation of those with a Military background.

Military heritage
Military heritage runs deep with Tesco. What’s now one of Europe’s most successful supermarket chains was founded by a Royal Flying Corps Veteran from the Great War. At the age of just 21, Jack Cohen set up his first market stall with his £30 demob money in 1919, so it’s more than likely that he’d be incredibly proud of the close links the business he founded has maintained with the Armed Forces community ever since.