The programme will see Asda continue to collaborate closely with charity DFN Project SEARCH, expanding the initiative to a total of 11 stores including the existing Queensferry, Wales store.

The programme aims to give young people with special educational needs a taste of a real-life working environment, Asda said in a statement. Only 4.8% of people in England (4.1% in Scotland) with a learning disability go on to secure paid employment once their education finishes, compared to 80% of their peers. Asda’s initiative will provide students the opportunity to learn new skills and grow in confidence so that they can gain employment once they finish their studies.

As part of the expanded programme, Asda will introduce bespoke uniform items for interns, including t-shirts and fleeces will carry the message: ‘Happy to Help, please bear with me I’m learning.’ The uniform will help customers recognise that the young people are learning so that they can build their confidence to support and interact with future customers.

Asda will also work closely with local colleges to provide students with a full-time course of study based at the store, as well as access to work-based experiential learning every day and a specific employability curriculum, the company said.

Asda became the first supermarket to collaborate with DFN Project SEARCH in the summer of 2023, which saw the retailer work closely with a local college – Coleg Cambria – to provide paid work experience at its Queensferry store.

After the 2023-24 programme concluded earlier this year, Asda subsequently offered permanent positions to all of the five students within its Queensferry store, cementing its position as a diverse and inclusive employer.

The stores participating in the expanded programme are Farnworth Superstore, Sheffield Supercentre, Llandudno Superstore, Tunstall Superstore, Colne Superstore, Blackburn Superstore, Workington Superstore, Nuneaton Superstore, Hull Mount Pleasant Superstore, Derby Supercentre, and Queensferry Supercentre.

DFN Project SEARCH aims to support 10,000 young adults with a learning disability, or autism spectrum condition (or both) into paid employment by 2030 and has already helped more than 2,600 people to date.

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