Training and employment: opportunities for 19 talented recent graduates

To select 19 recent graduates to take part in a work and advanced training programme that includes a one-year master’s degree course, entirely free of charge. This is the aim of ‘Coop Next New Generation’, launched by Coop in collaboration with the Catholic University, which aims to develop a new generation of managers following a programme combining theory and practice. For the time being, the 19 candidates to be selected – who must have obtained a master’s degree – will be hired on a permanent contract in the main strategic areas of consumer cooperatives: marketing and communications, sales network and development, supply chain, human resources, sustainability and innovation, IT and organisation. The permanent contract begins on the first day of the talent programme and provides for a starting gross annual salary of 25,700 euros, together with a healthcare package, supplementary pension scheme, and corporate welfare initiatives provided for in the supplementary employment contracts, as well as free enrolment on the second-level Master’s degree programme, the residential experience provided for in the programme, and a structured managerial development programme for professional growth within the consumer cooperatives.

“Coop Next forms part of a renewed commitment that consumer co-operatives have decided to pursue with the specific aim of attracting and retaining young talent,” says Milco Traversa, director of labour and welfare policy at the National Association of Consumer Co-operatives (Ancc-Coop) – and it is a project that complements the other training programmes that the co-operatives run in their local areas. Over the past year, more than 44,000 employees have taken part, and 2,000 Coop employees have benefited from the career pathways already in place over the last three years. We like to think of this as the start of a process of renewal for our management.” For the 19 participants, in fact, a special ‘reward’ is in store: a 12-month talent programme, comprising classroom-based and practical training, alongside a second-level university master’s degree in ‘Management of Consumer Cooperatives’, organised in collaboration with Scuola Coop by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart – SMEA, the Higher School of Management and Agri-Food Economics, at its Cremona campus. Entirely free of charge and with accommodation costs covered for attendance, the Master’s programme alternates between theoretical training modules and hands-on experience within cooperatives, as well as an overseas retail tour to gain insight into the experiences of other consumer cooperatives across Europe.

“It is a tangible and significant investment, estimated at around one million euros, which all the co-operatives felt it was right to make. At the same time, it is a challenging project through which we aim to develop the professional skills needed to combine business acumen with an understanding of the specific way in which co-operatives operate,” emphasises Ernesto Dalle Rive, president of ANCC-Coop. “If we succeed in our endeavour, we will be launching a project that can be replicated in the medium to long term.”

Applications will remain open until 13 September. To apply: https://it.grafton.com/