Kingfisher sets major new colleague learning target
Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix, has set a new target for 20,000 colleagues to have completed an apprenticeship, traineeship or formal qualification by the end of the decade.
The company has made the announcement after achieving its current learning ambition two years early, with colleagues completing over six million skills for life learning hours since 2019/20, ahead of Kingfisher’s initial target of five million hours by 2025.
Last year, over 4,000 staff members participated in an apprenticeship or traineeship, with courses covering specialisms ranging from retail management to software engineering and finance.
Kingfisher said it will continue to invest in a wide range of programmes across its business to support colleagues throughout their careers. At Screwfix, 80% of store staff completing Level 2, 3 and 4 apprenticeships go on to become trade supervisors, assistant or branch managers.
Meanwhile, B&Q offers a range of over 40 apprenticeship courses.
Kate Seljeflot, Kingfisher chief people officer, said: “We strongly believe in supporting all our colleagues to develop their skills and reach their full potential. Investing in talent and building our skills base, particularly in growing priorities like digital and data, will be critical to our future success.
“Our new target underlines our group-wide commitment to empowering our colleagues with new skills, developing future talent and creating inclusive opportunities for young people to enter the workplace.”
Screwfix has recently launched ‘Trade Link’, an online hub that provides support to tradespeople to recruit the next generation of talent.
B&Q is also supporting the trade sector with its pledge of £1 million to fund trade apprentices through transfer to transform. To date, over 59 apprentices, across 45 businesses, have been fully funded by B&Q to support a variety trades such as carpentry, scaffolding, painting and decorating. The scheme also supports women in leadership within engineering.
