Gap Inc. Announces Expansion of Proven Store Internship Program
September 10 2016 - 1:30PM
Business Wire
By 2025, 5 Percent of Entry-Level Store Hires
will be from the Company’s Paid Internship and Job Coaching
Program: This Way Ahead
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) today announced its goal of hiring 5
percent of all entry-level store employees from graduates of the
company’s This Way Ahead paid store internship program by 2025.
First launched in 2007, the program empowers teens and young adults
from low-income communities by teaching them valuable job readiness
and life skills while also generating proven talent and business
benefits for participating Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy
stores. By 2020, the company expects 10,000 teens and young adults
will have participated in This Way Ahead, receiving job coaching
and critical first job experience.
“This Way Ahead is a game-changer for the teens and young adults
who participate,” says Bobbi Silten, EVP, Global Talent and
Sustainability at Gap Inc. Silten added, “Not only do interns have
a meaningful first job experience they can include on their
resumes, they develop valuable life-skills and build a foundation
for future success in the workplace.” The program is a business
priority for the company with proven results. This Way Ahead
graduates stay with the company twice as long as their peers and
have higher engagement scores.
Gap Inc. created This Way Ahead in response to the ongoing
challenge of youth unemployment. Research shows that getting a
first job as a teenager has a profound impact on an individual’s
long-term earning potential. For example, being unemployed young
can reduce earnings by as much as 20 percent for up to two decades.
Gap Inc. partners with select nonprofits that have strong ties to
local communities and a track record of running effective job
training and life skills programs on This Way Ahead. Course
curriculum includes fundamentals such as resume writing and
budgeting, supplemented by workshops facilitated by Gap Inc.
employee volunteers. Following their training, teens and young
adults 16 – 24 interview for a ten-week paid internship at Old
Navy, Gap, or Banana Republic stores. During their internship,
participants continue to receive personalized coaching from the
nonprofit partner and store managers, while getting hands-on
experience working in a store. To date, 75 percent of This Way
Ahead alumni have received job offers from Gap Inc.
“Many nonprofits run job training programs, but when the
programs end and we want to place them in jobs, it is challenging
to find jobs for all the youth who need them,” says Tony DiStefano,
Executive Director of Enterprise for Youth, a This Way Ahead
nonprofit partner in San Francisco. “Through This Way Ahead, our
youth get a first job experience, they’re coached to improve their
skills, and they collect a paycheck. They’re getting the skills,
confidence, and real-life experience needed for long-term workplace
success.”
As a global company with over 3,000 stores as well as corporate
offices, brand headquarters, distribution and call centers located
around the world, Gap Inc. can offer entry-level employees a
rewarding and diverse career path. Underscoring a demonstrated
practice of promoting talent from within, the majority of the
company’s store managers began their careers as entry-level
associates.
Currently, This Way Ahead operates in 12 cities, including
Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Los
Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA;
Toronto, Canada; London, England; and Manchester, England.
To learn more about This Way Ahead, visit
http://www.gapincsustainability.com/way-ahead.
About Gap Inc.
Gap Inc. is a leading global retailer offering clothing,
accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and
children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and
Intermix brands. Fiscal year 2015 net sales were $15.8 billion. Gap
Inc. products are available for purchase in more than 90 countries
worldwide through about 3,300 company-operated stores, about 450
franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. For more information,
please visit www.gapinc.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160910005016/en/
Gap Inc.Media Relations Contact:Debbie Felix,
415-629-0331press@gap.com
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