Kesko invites young people to apply for the K-trainee programme
Also this year, Kesko will select some 20 recent university or polytechnic graduates to be trained for managerial and specialist positions in the trading sector. The application period for the K-Group’s joint recruitment and training programme will be in September 2007, when the current K-trainees will tour institutes of higher education telling about Kesko’s trainee programme.
”The first K-trainee programme commenced last year was a real success receiving more than one thousand applications. Kesko is expanding and becoming increasingly international at a brisk pace and we need new top experts. I’m confident that our programme will again find active and courageous young people who are interested in the trading sector," says Matti Halmesmäki, Kesko's President and CEO.
The next K-trainee programme will start in January 2008 and will run for one year. Those recruited to participate will be employed in permanent jobs in the K-Group. The programme provides those admitted with a good basis to proceed to managerial and specialist positions in the trading sector, as well as international careers.
An essential part of the one-year programme is working in a retail store, which is meant to give the participants a practical introduction to the work at a store. During the store training period, each trainee participates in the job rotation of a K-Group chain store, learns about the chain’s other operations and gets an overall idea of how the store and the chain work. The K-trainee programme also includes a comprehensive managerial training period at the K-instituutti, the K-Group's own training centre.
In addition to the K-trainee programme, Kesko also offers K-retailer trainee programmes for future retailer entrepreneurs. The K-retailer trainee programme, which has approximately 100 participants annually, has run in its present form since 1998, and has become a cornerstone for the retailer reserve function.
The K-Group, that is Kesko and K-stores, has approximately 50,000 employees in all. The Kesko Group has 25,000 employees, of whom 15,000 in Finland and 10,000 abroad. The K-Group's nearly 700 job titles provide a wide selection that extends from basic duties to retailer entrepreneurship and to a wide range of specialist and managerial jobs in various fields. The K-Group's extent and diversified internal training provide good opportunities to develop at work and make career progress, including international duties.
Further information:
Riitta Laitasalo, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 1053 22060
Sari Kulmala, HR Manager, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 1053 22860
www.k-trainee.fi
Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a Finnish retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers through valued products and services at competitive prices. Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Russia.
