IT was a day of celebration on Thursday for young people at Marks and Spencer as a group of 24 graduated from the Make Your Mark scheme.

The project, which runs in conjunction with The Prince’s Trust, sees people aged between 16 and 24 who are struggling to find jobs given work experience in the store.

They work in all departments, from the food hall to womenswear, where they gain retail experience as well as get a much needed boost to their confidence.

At the end, many are subsequently given full-time jobs in one of the stores.

Rob Bailey, the store manager, said: “There are hundreds of thousands of young people across the UK who are struggling to find work and we’re extremely proud to be helping to support some of those through the Make Your Mark programme.

“We hope to make a real and lasting impact on the lives of those coming through the programme at M&S Swindon.”

The graduation ceremony was carried out by North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson.

He said: “This is a fantastic scheme which gives young people vital experience and real life skills.”