The three-year programme will provide university graduates with the chance to kick-start their career via valuable on-the-job experience and fast track career development. Throughout the programme, successful applicants will be constantly challenged and given a variety of responsibilities, which will help prepare them for a long-term career in the retail sector.
Sophie Adams, recruitment manager, John Lewis said: "John Lewis offers successful graduates the chance to accelerate their career development with training sessions and guidance. We have seen many Partners (staff) progress through our graduate training up to senior management roles and we hope to see many more graduates achieve this with the combination of high quality training, interesting roles and generous reward schemes."
For buying he course starts with training in an entry level buying role as well as some time on the shop floor. From there, graduates will move to an assistant buyer role, taking on management responsibilities and ultimately moving into a buyer role.
Merchandising graduates will start in an entry-level role, and will attend coaching sessions as well as undertake special projects to support their development. From there they will step into an assistant merchandiser role, taking on management and stock flow responsibilities as well as forecasting market trends.
Retail graduates will start within a section manager role and will rotate between branch and head office work. Following this, they will work towards department manager level and will be expected to manage their team, ensure targets are met and also make sure their department is aesthetically pleasing
Graduates on the finance scheme will start in analyst roles in commercial finance or financial accountancy. From there, they will work towards becoming senior analysts and will be expected to get involved in several areas of the business, from reporting on corporate risks to analysing the performance of individual products or shops.
Graduates in IT will start as trainee programmers or assistant analysts within John Lewis, managing the shared technical infrastructure for systems used by personnel and finance. From there, they will progress along the programming or analyst routes or move into project management.
On top of the training they will receive, graduates will be able to take advantage of the many benefits offered to Partners. As well as receiving a share of company profits and having a 'say' in the running of the organisation, they can also join a number of John Lewis clubs and societies such as sailing, surfing and wine tasting. In addition they will also have the opportunity to take part in the John Lewis 'Partners in Sport' programme in the run up to London 2012, which offers staff the chance to become sports coaches as well as the opportunity to bid for funding for team or group sporting events.