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The Co-operative Group, which owns a family of businesses including a chain of supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and car dealerships, has announced a new apprenticeship academy to create new opportunities for young people and transform attitudes to youth in the UK.

The group intends to offer all young staff the opportunity to develop transferrable skills, competencies and qualifications as part of a £21 million campaign to inspire young people. The apprenticeship scheme is intended to benefit 2,000 young people, offering them experience of at least two of the Co-op's range of businesses, helping them work towards a recognised national qualification and providing the opportunity to progress into the group's management training scheme.

The group already runs a youth volunteering scheme and funds projects targeting young people in collaboration with a collection of charity partners including The Prince's Trust and Young Scot, as part of their 'Truth about Youth' programme.

Peter Marks, group chief executive at the Co-op, said: 'Shackled with the legacy of national debt, an increasingly inaccessible property ladder and an uncertain future shaped by climate change, it's a challenging time to be a young person in Britain.

'Sadly, as a society, we harbour a widespread negative attitude towards young people which doesn't encourage or inspire them. We believe it is exactly these attitudes that need to change rather than the all too common view that young people have an attitude problem.

'All too often, we see or hear stories which portray youngsters as poorly educated, work-shy and uncaring. As someone who runs a business which employs over 120,000 people, a quarter of whom are under the age of 25, I know this just isn't true - we must start talking up the young and see them as the solution rather than the problem.

'While our work, through these commitments, will directly benefit 250,000 young people across the UK, we have set our sights far higher. In fact our vision is to help bring about a cultural shift in the way that young people are viewed and treated in this country.'

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