Southend News
300 apply for 20 jobs at new Rayleigh Tesco
2:00pm Wednesday 8th February 2012
THREE hundred people applied for 20 jobs at a new supermarket in Rayleigh.
Tesco Express, in London Road, will officially be opened next Friday, February 17, and has already recruited all its staff.
Applications flooded in for the full and part-time positions.
Joan Mockford, Sweyne Park ward councillor, said the volume of applications, and those left disappointed, was a sad reflection of today’s job market. She said: “I really don’t know what the answer is.
“The council is trying to find apprenticeships for a lot of young people, some of the schools have got courses to train them in different trades.
“But it is the climate at the moment, unfortunately.”
Rhys Pegrum, 20, from Rayleigh, who has been unemployed for just over a year, managed to bag one of the Tesco jobs.
He said: “I am really excited.
“I hope to push my career on, starting with this role and then working my way up to team leader as quickly as I can.
“I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
Tesco said locals were employed to give the store a community feel.
Store manager Mike Kingsnorth and his team promoted the new jobs with the JobCentre, and in south Essex shops, which led to all vacancies being filled locally. He said: “I was thrilled by the response.
“In this time of economic uncertainty, it is great we are able to create jobs for our local community.”
The new shop will be open from 7am until 11pm seven days a week. It will include a cash machine and two self-service tills, as well as parking.