Sainsbury’s has announced it is launching a new graduate programme focused on developing skills in artificial intelligence.

The FutureMaker programme, which will take on nearly 50 graduates in the firm’s store support centre, will last for two years and aims to help graduates develop critical digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skills, which the retailer views as vital for supporting future business growth.

The decision to focus the new graduate programme on digital and AI skills was informed by “extensive research” into the future needs of the business, the company said.

Graduates on the scheme will also develop skills in areas including data and analytics, as well as business decision-making.

It comes after warnings earlier this year that UK graduates were facing the toughest job market in years, according to job search site Indeed.

The number of roles advertised for graduates was down 33% on the previous year, its lowest level in seven years.

By focusing its programme on these skills, Sainsbury’s hopes to open more accessible pathways for graduates, improving their digital confidence by demystifying AI and machine learning and enabling more responsible use of these tools.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “As a proud people-first business, our colleagues are at the heart of everything we do.

“We’re committed to investing in early careers and have spent time identifying the skills our future leaders will need to help us build a sustainable retail talent pipeline.”

In 2024, the retailer announced a partnership with Microsoft to enhance customer and colleague experience with AI, including “upskilling programmes for Sainsbury’s colleagues, helping them learn and grow in the new AI-driven economy”.

Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s chief retail and technology officer, said of the partnership at the time: “It’s one of the key ways we’re investing in transforming our capabilities over the next three years, enabling us to take another big leap forward in efficiency and productivity.”

But the supermarket stressed that the new graduate programme was not specifically connected to that partnership.

Applications for the graduate scheme open on January 9.

Over the past two years, Sainsbury’s has announced two rounds of job cuts, axing 1,500 jobs in February 2024 and 3,000 jobs in January 2025, as part of plans to simplify its business and cut £1 billion in costs in a challenging economic environment.

Part of its overhaul has also included increasing investment in automation and AI.

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s power distribution sector has continued to show uneven progress on health, safety and environmental (HSE) standards, said the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) HSE Performance Evaluation Report for fiscal year 2024-25.

The report points to persistent weaknesses among several public-sector distribution companies. Utilities such as Lahore, Quetta and Hyderabad electricity supplying companies were rated in the “fair” category, indicating gaps in safety governance, contractor oversight and field-level implementation of safety procedures. Others, including Islamabad, Peshawar and Sukkur electricity supplying firms, were only assessed as “good” and showed inconsistent performance across key indicators, suggesting that improvements have yet to be embedded into mature and sustainable HSE management systems.

Within the distribution segment, only a limited number of public-sector utilities, including Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and tribal areas electricity supplying companies, achieved “outstanding” ratings during the evaluation period. While these companies demonstrated comparatively stronger compliance, their results showed greater year-to-year variation when compared with top-ranked performers. K-Electric was placed in the “outstanding” category with the highest score of 91 out of 100.

Nepra’s annual evaluation covers generation, transmission and distribution licensees and assesses them against 20 standardised categories outlined in the Power Safety Code. These include accident prevention measures, contractor safety management, documentation quality, emergency preparedness and the effectiveness of HSE management systems. Scores are capped at 100 and classified into five performance tiers ranging from “unsatisfactory” to “outstanding.”

Beyond distribution companies, the report highlights generally stronger and more consistent performance among power generation licensees, many of which recorded high scores across multiple years. Transmission companies showed mixed results, reflecting the operational challenges associated with managing extensive high-voltage networks spread over large geographic areas.