Business Report writes that the Mr Price Foundation has managed to place 6 571 unemployed youths in a year thanks to its R24.2 million investment in retail skills development through its JumpStart programme. The JumpStart programme, established in collaboration with the Mr Price Foundation, is meant to prepare youths for entry-level jobs in retail stores. Releasing the Mr Price Foundation’s 2024 Annual Integrated Report last week, for the period April last year to March this year, it said in the reporting period, the foundation invested R24.2 million in retail skills development through its JumpStart programme, upskilling 7252 unemployed youths, with 90% of them securing employment at Mr Price Group, SPAR and the Foundation’s other employer partners.

Karen Wells, the head of Mr Price Foundation, said this meant 6 571 youths were taken out of the unemployment line and into employment. The foundation said JumpStart training was demand-driven. In a new partnership with Anglo American Platinum, it was able to grow its JumpStart footprint significantly in the Limpopo area, from 33% in 2023 to 61% in 2024. “We are also reaping the rewards of a new partnership with Power Fashion, which has become the largest employer of JumpStarters outside of Mr Price Apparel, Mr Price Home and SPAR, ” it said.

by Given Majola