This is how Tesco generates £95m for Crawley's economy

The new research by Public First, for Tesco, has shown that the Crawley constituency is one of Tesco’s top 10 locations for jobs provided in the UK. This is made of over 1,500 direct jobs as well as a further 854 across the broader supply chain.

Tesco is the UK’s largest retailer, with more than 300,000 employees across the country. It comes as the report shows that 1 in 5 people across the UK say they have worked in a supermarket at some point in their career and young people see it as the second most available career option in their local area.

Tesco also supports young people, with around 1,000 apprentices nationally combining on-the-job experience with formal training.

Tesco is also calling on Government to introduce reforms to the Apprenticeship Levy. Data from this report suggests that, with additional flexibilities, Tesco could increase the number of apprentices by up to 50%, resulting in an additional 8,000 opportunities across the retail sector.

The new figures are released as part of a wider report showing the importance of Tesco to local communities, which finds that in Crawley, Tesco generates nearly £95m for the local economy each year.

Tesco has also provided nearly £28,000 for local charities over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Head of Communities, Claire de Silva said: “We’re really proud of our colleagues in Crawley, and beyond, who do a brilliant job serving the local community – and never more so than over the last 18 months. Not only have they helped to ensure everyone can safely get the food they needed throughout the pandemic, but they’ve also been a lifeline for charities and local organisations, who we work closely with to ensure they receive our donations of surplus food.”