It's a place where people can build a real career. There are clear routes to grow, from work experience and apprenticeships through to our graduate programme and plenty of support along the way. Our CEO Simon Roberts started out on the shop floor, which tells you something about where a career in retail can lead.
Absolutely and we'd love to help you take those first steps. We know how hard it can be to get a foot in the door when you don't have the right contacts, so we've launched a new Modern Work Experience Programme to make work experience fairer and more accessible to everyone. Together with an industry pilot, it'll create around 10,000 opportunities a year for young people to build confidence, pick up skills and see what a career in retail could look like.
It comes in two parts: KickStarter Explore for 14–18 year-olds, blending in-school learning with real workplace experience, and KickStarter Insights for 16–24 year-olds, with employability workshops to help with interviews, applications and the important next steps.
We're also helping to shape the future of work experience across our whole industry. As a founding participant in Feeding Britain's Future – a pilot led by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) and The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), alongside other retailers – we're helping design a new, shared approach to work experience for 14–18 year-olds. What we learn will help open up even more opportunities in local communities in the years ahead.
If you're leaving university, our FutureMaker graduate programme is where our leaders of tomorrow are grown. Over two years, you'll take on three eight-month rotations right at the heart of the business, building the skills shaping the future of retail – think data and analytics, digital and AI, commercial thinking and driving change. You'll have a manager, a mentor and a buddy throughout and at the end we'll help you find a permanent role.
And it doesn't stop there – through our SkillShaper apprenticeships, colleagues at any stage can gain a recognised qualification while they work, with protected time to learn.
We think people who work hard should be rewarded fairly. We've increased hourly pay by more than 40% over the past five years, with our most recent rise coming in above inflation.
This year, hourly pay increased to £13.23 per hour nationally and £14.54 per hour in London, resulting in a pay increase of over £1,200 a year for full-time hourly-paid colleagues.
And pay is only part of it: colleagues also get a discount that can save over £600 a year on an £80 weekly shop, free food during shifts, a pension scheme and a share-save scheme.
We'd love to hear from you. Whether it's an in-store role, logistics, technology, an apprenticeship or our graduate programme, you can find everything on our careers site – with over 60,000 roles across our business each year, there's a lot to explore.
Sainsbury's is one of the UK's largest employers, with around 140,000 colleagues. We offer competitive, above-inflation pay, a strong benefits package, and clear routes to grow – from work experience and apprenticeships to our graduate programme – so people can build a career whatever their starting point.
Sainsbury's pays competitive, above-inflation rates, and has increased hourly pay by more than 40% over the past five years. Colleagues also receive a strong benefits package, including a discount that can save over £600 a year on an £80 weekly shop, free food during shifts, a pension scheme and a share-save scheme.
Yes. Sainsbury’s pays all store colleagues the same hourly wage regardless of their age.
Yes. As well as competitive pay, colleagues get a discount that can save over £600 a year on an £80 weekly shop, free food during shifts, a pension scheme and a share-save scheme.
Yes – our FutureMaker graduate programme is a two-year scheme with three eight-month rotations, building skills in data, digital and AI, commercial thinking and change. Applications open in January for roles starting in September and graduates are supported into a permanent role at the end.
Yes. Our Modern Work Experience Programme will create around 10,000 opportunities a year for young people. KickStarter Explore is for 14–18 year-olds and KickStarter Insights is for 16–24 year-olds, helping build skills, confidence and networks.
KickStarter is an educational employability programme rather than employment, so it isn't paid. Participants take part voluntarily to develop skills, confidence and career awareness. They are not carrying out the work of paid colleagues or filling employee roles, and the programme is designed to support their future education and employment opportunities.
KickStarter Explore is aimed at young people aged 14-16 and provides insight into the world of work, retail careers and employability skills.
KickStarter Insights is aimed at young people aged 16-24 and offers deeper career exploration, skills development and exposure to a wider range of career pathways across Sainsbury's.
Both programmes are focused on learning and development, helping young people build confidence, broaden their career awareness and gain valuable experiences that support their future education and employment choices. We'll cover lunch and travel where they're needed, so young people aren't out of pocket.
No. KickStarter is there to help young people learn about work, not to fill our rotas. They won't be serving customers, filling shelves or covering shifts. The programme is an investment by Sainsburys to support young people accessing work experience.
Sainsbury’s KickStarter scheme will bring together two connected pathways designed to support young people at different stages of their journey. Participants take part voluntarily to develop skills, confidence and career awareness. They are not carrying out the work of paid colleagues or filling employee roles, and the programme is designed to support their future education and employment opportunities.
What the programmers look like:
KickStarter Explore (14–18 years)
A blend of in-school learning and practical work experience, co-designed with The School Outreach Company. The programme will help young people build confidence, develop workplace skills and discover the wide range of careers available at Sainsbury's and the wider retail sector.
KickStarter Insights (16–24 years)
This programme is co-designed and delivered in partnership with Sainsbury’s Early Careers team, youth employment charity Movement to Work and specialist partner Aim a Little Higher. These regional employability workshops will help young people strengthen communication skills, prepare for interviews and applications and take their next step into work.
A quarter of our colleagues are under 25, and for many of them this is their first job. We pay the same hourly rate whatever someone's age. We also have a range of early careers programmes that develop both existing colleagues and support young people have entry routes into Sainsbury’s. Our SkillShaper apprenticeships are for full time colleagues and provide them with development whilst they are working and FutureMaker graduate programme supports young people develop into future leadership roles, so young people earn while they build their skills and careers.
Yes – our SkillShaper apprenticeships let colleagues gain recognised qualifications while they work, with time protected to learn, across areas like data, digital, commercial and transformation.
Yes. Our SkillShaper apprentices are existing Sainsbury's colleagues and are paid while they study their apprenticeship. They also earn a recognised qualification, with protected time to learn. Apprenticeships cover data and analytics, digital, change and transformation, and commercial skills.
You can explore and apply for roles – in-store, logistics, technology, apprenticeships and graduate programmes – at sainsburys.jobs. Over 60,000 roles come up across the business each year.
