M&S's new distribution centre to create 1000 new roles

Remploy Employment Services will work with local referral partners and provide employability skills training for participants. Those participants who successfully complete this part of the programme will then take part in on-site M&S technical and skills based training using simulated equipment.

Following the training, participants will complete a two week work placement where they will be working in a team in a live environment. At the end of their placement the team leader and participant will review whether the participant is ready for employment at M&S Castle Donington or whether further training and support is required. Remploy who will continue to work with participants who require further support prior to employment or with participants who decide that this opportunity is not right for them.

Castle Donington facts

• The site is 900,000 sq ft and over 25 metres high. Equivalent of 11 Wembley size football pitches, it could hold 12 jumbo jets, 3,507 double decker buses or 2,392 billion Percy Pigs.
• The is site is fully mechanised and features some of the latest technology in the warehousing industry including automated storage and retrieval systems and sophisticated warehouse management systems guaranteeing delivery accuracy.
• Castle Donington offers excellent transport links, with direct access to the A50 and a rail terminal.
• The site was built with M&S' Plan A in mind and features Europe's largest solar wall - a sun-facing wall that absorbs solar energy and releases it to help power light and heating. It is carbon neutral and has been part built using concrete from a former power station. None of the waste from the site has gone to landfill.

Plan A is Marks & Spencer's environmental and ethical programme which aims to make M&S the world's most sustainable major retailer by 2015. Launched in 2007 and extended in March 2010, it takes an holistic approach to sustainability focusing on involving customers, engaging all areas of the business and tackling issues such as climate change, waste, raw materials, health and being a fair partner.

Marks & Spencer (M&S)