Youth Board

The recruitment

In Spring 2011 B&Q launched a nation-wide competition to find a group of bright young things to form its very first Youth Board.

The opportunity was open to anyone between the ages of 16-18 years, and hundreds of applicants battled it out through the three-tier selection progress. After many months of searching we found our team, set their challenge, and paired them with a B&Q Director who served as their mentor until the end of the programme in July 2012.

During the three-month recruitment process the young people were asked to submit a written application, including an essay in answer to the following question:

In September 2009 the Harvard Business Review stated: “We find smart companies now treat sustainability as innovation’s new frontier.” Why might that be?

Those who made it through the first round were asked to submit a two-minute YouTube video explaining what they thought was the biggest challenge facing business over the next 10–20 years.

From these submissions we invited 16 of the applicants to compete in the final – an all-day assessment at B&Q’s head office in Chandler’s Ford. The young hopefuls were put through their paces, participating in various group exercises and individual interviews. The standard of candidates was extremely high and the judges’ decisions were difficult. The assessment was overseen by CEO, Martyn Phillips and former Marketing Director, Katherine Paterson – among other senior B&Q staff.