Tesco graduates receive degrees - graduate jobs

A handful of graduates have celebrated receiving their degrees - from Tesco.

As part of a new training programme for supermarket staff, the first 17 store managers from the Tesco Retail Foundation Degree were given their diplomas.

The two-year, full-time course taught the staff a range of management skills, including consumer behaviour, management of information, in-store marketing, retail leadership and retail law.

Students spent three days at a university every term, with the web-based course combining academic study with workplace learning.

In the project - which cost Tesco £1,048 each term - students also got two days off every term for paid study leave as well as a further day to spend with their tutors.

Hayley Tatum, Tesco UK operations personnel director, said: "This degree is no easier to achieve because it is employer-led and work-based. Not only is it subject to the same quality assurance standards as any other higher education degree, it's also subject to quality assessment and evaluation by an employer."

Joe Wheeler, one of the graduates, said: "It has given me an opportunity to get qualifications without having to leave my job or face the staggering amount of debt most students are faced with nowadays."