Marks & Spencer opens jobs for disabled

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has a scheme for employing people

with disabilities and health conditions. The scheme is called Marks & Start Logistics and it will employ people with disabilities at Marks & Spencer’s new distribution centre in Castle Donington, due to open in early 2013. Set to be the UK's largest dedicated e-commerce warehouse, it will distribute two million clothing and home products a week direct to customer homes and M&S stores across the country.

Marks & Start Logistics will help recruit, train and employ people with disabilities and health conditions to work at Castle Donington. It will be run in partnership with Remploy Employment Service, which specialises in giving disabled people the support they need to overcome barriers to work. Darrell Stein, Director of IT and Logistics at Marks & Spencer, said: "Castle Donington is a key part of M&S' strategy for the future. This new distribution centre will help us deliver our goal of being a leading multi-channel retailer by 2015. It will also allow us to better serve our customers with improved product availability and extended delivery options. We're delighted to be creating 1000 new roles as part of this plan and we hope it will provide an economic boost for the East Midlands.”

The site at Castle Donington is 900,000 square feet and over 25 meters high. It 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. The workforce will be employed in categories like warehouse operatives, engineers, mechanics administrative staff, transport controllers and management.