SKOLA: a new innovative training programme

This fall, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield launched SKOLA, a new training programme in partnership with Les Apprentis d’Auteuil. SKOLA is an innovative two-month sales programme that combines theory and practice in a unique setup. The participants can experience real life sales situations in our SKOLA popups stores, while also attending classes and workshops in the training backroom. At the end of the programme, trainees have the opportunity to be recruited by retailers through job dating events or to pursue their studies to obtain a full certification. The SKOLA project was made possible thanks to the involvement of public and private partners, including the Auteuil Foundation, Agefos PME, Pôle Emploi, Mission Locale, as well as many retailers. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shopping centres provide qualitative salespoints and help build bridges between trainees and retailers through the organisation of job fairs.

SKOLA was created as part of Better Places 2030 – Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s ambitious CSR strategy, which especially aims to foster local employment and strengthen the communities in which we operate. The UR for Jobs initiative provides individuals in search of employment whose atypical profiles might not fit conventional recruitment processes with tools to find long-term employment or integrate a training programme. It relies on three pillars:

• Training to acquire the skills that retailers are looking for
• Coaching from the Group’s employees, who help candidates prepare for job interviews
• Exposure to pre-identified recruiters in our shopping centres during job fairs

SKOLA has been initiated in two of the Group’s shopping centres in France – Euralille and Polygone Riviera, with a total 32 trainees enrolled in the programme.

"We are very proud to welcome and support this programme which reinvents the codes of recruitment. Our DNA pushes us towards innovative methods of training and mentoring. All ingredients are gathered to make this first SKOLA promotion a success!"

Hugo Rey, Euralille shopping centre Director

The initiatives at Euralille and Polygone Riviera are the first step of a broader deployment. The Group aims at extending the SKOLA programme to more shopping centres across our regions in the future.

"SKOLA is one of the most innovative and efficient UR for Jobs initiatives launched within the Group. We are very thankful to all the partners that made it possible. This programme is another proof of the successes and innovations that can be achieved through collective power."

Sabine Pompey, Project Leader (Group CSR Manager HR)