In response to the International Youth Day, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, AS Watson Group, announced its commitment to provide 200,000 job openings for young people globally by 2030. The pledge is to give young people from all over the world the opportunities, skills and experiences to equip them for the fast-changing business landscape and kickstart their career in retail.
According to the World Economic Forum, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected labour markets around the world, and it has been especially challenging for young people. Globally, youth unemployment was already an issue before the pandemic, with 15 to 24-year-olds three times more likely to be without work than the over-25s. COVID-19 has made that situation worse.
To help address this global challenge, AS Watson Group plans to offer 200,000 job opportunities worldwide for young people, enabling them to gain valuable experience to develop their career in the retail sector. The jobs will span different areas of our business, including working in stores, at head office and in distribution, and the roles are multi-disciplinary from customer service specialist, to marketing, digital development, eCommerce, analytics, finance, and sustainability, to name a few.
Parkson Tseung, Group People Director (Asia) of AS Watson Group, says, “We all have a responsibility to nurture the next generation. What young people need is more companies opening doors to them and offering them a platform to prove their abilities. AS Watson is proud to provide more and better opportunities so that young people see hope in their future amid uncertainties in the world economy. The pandemic has made it difficult for young people to start their career with limited exposure to the workplace. Through these jobs, we are not just empowering them to be more confident and competent but also strengthening our business by listening to the voice of the next generation.”
The transformation of retailing at AS Watson who sets the new standard of O+O (Offline plus Online) integrated retail platform, the range of job nature and opportunities has widely expanded. Getting a start on the career ladder can be difficult for young people, however, who lack workplace experience and often the specific skills that these roles require.
Joanne Mackie, Group People Director (Europe) of AS Watson Group, adds, “Young people are an important source of talents and creativity; by developing their skills, we can make our business stronger and fitter for the future. We are not only offering job opportunities, we’re also providing training and coaching to give young people the skills they need to work in the new world of O+O retail. We plan to provide 5 million training hours specifically for youth in our global workforce to embrace the future. We look forward to 200,000 talented young people joining us between now and 2030 to help fuel the sustainable growth engine for AS Watson.”
