Tesco is to support over 1,000 people in November with Career Clinics across the UK, specifically targeting areas that face higher deprivation and economic challenges.

These clinics will be free to attend and aim to give people the life skills and confidence to go forward into work, whether that includes looking for a job at Tesco, or anywhere else.

Anyone who attends one of the Career Clinics will also be guaranteed an interview as part of Tesco’s festive recruitment drive.

The initiative follows new research conducted by independent cross-party think tank Social Market Foundation (SMF) which found that 56% of people surveyed who want to get into employment don’t feel equipped to compete in the job market, while 36% say they underperform in interviews and 30% find it difficult to write a CV that appeals to employers.

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In recent years, the supermarket giant has taken steps to remove barriers to employment, including cutting the requirement to submit CVs and complete psychometric testing for all frontline roles.

In Tesco’s distribution teams, new recruitment hubs have also been set up to give applicants more personal support and simplify the recruitment processes, across multiple languages.

The grocer said this has halved the recruitment time and resulted in new colleagues from more diverse backgrounds joining the business.

Tesco is now calling on the government to make it easier for businesses to provide training and reskilling opportunities to its employees, including implementing the Growth and Skills Levy as a priority to enable people at all levels of attainment to access more modular and targeted training.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said: “Everyone is welcome at Tesco and I have always been a big believer in the power of retail as an employer. The geographic reach and variety of roles means that a job in retail can help anyone to get on, wherever they live and whatever their background.

“I hope the Career Clinics we are launching will help give people a confidence and skills boost where it’s sorely needed, and that the changes we have made to our recruitment processes will give more people a chance to find flexible and rewarding opportunities at Tesco.”