Alok Sharma, Member of Parliament for Reading West, today re-visited the Reading Tesco Distribution Centre to get an update on Tesco’s efforts in helping people into employment and supporting them to progress their careers.
Alok formally opened the Distribution Centre, located in Alok’s Reading West constituency, on 1st July 2013 during an official opening ceremony which included a dance performance by pupils from a local school. The centre is spread over 900,000 square feet and supplies over 400 Tesco stores across the South and South East, being one of the largest depots in Europe.
Many of the centre’s 1,100 employees are from the local area and Alok took the opportunity to meet with a number of them to discuss Tesco’s values. Some of the individuals Alok met included those that have benefited from Tesco’s Regeneration Partnership Scheme, a scheme developed when the centre first opened, from which 85 jobs were allocated for local long-term unemployed individuals.
Alok Sharma said: “Having met so many of the Tesco colleagues some years ago, it was just brilliant to re-visit the centre and to hear about their progress and success from over the past five years. My congratulations go to whole team at the Reading Tesco Distribution Centre for the accomplishments that their hard work has delivered and I thank the staff for sharing their stories with me.”
Ben Smith, Manager of the Distribution Centre, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Alok Sharma back to the Tesco Distribution Centre. It was great to demonstrate how our business is full of varied opportunities for colleagues to get on. This, coupled with our collaborative culture, is something we are really proud of.”
