Need To Know
25 : 05 : 21

Germany – Telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom is launching a platform to support and inspire future careers for Generation Z.

Its Project Futureproof platform is a collaboration between Gen Z contributors and skills and employability experts, featuring free-to-access digital tools to further the career paths of young people. Using vocational personality modelling, the platform connects users with potential future career options as well as helping them to uncover skills they might not have previously been aware of.

The platform comes at a time when 61% of European Gen Z feel anxious about their future job and career prospects, according to research by Deutsche Telekom. ‘Gen Z are stepping into a world of work that will have been fundamentally changed by both the Covid-19 pandemic and digital transformation,’ explains Ulrich Klenke, chief brand officer at Deutsche Telekom. ‘We believe that it is our collective responsibility to help them navigate the opportunities and challenges they face.’

As the future of work remains uncertain, Alumni Incubators are stepping in to nurture the next generation of talent.

US – The fashion retailer is introducing a wholesale purchase option, providing individual creators and businesses with blank canvas garments for their own projects.

Through its Blank Staples’ Wholesale option, customers will be able to purchase H&M’s men’s streetwear line of essential garments, along with premium-quality basics in bulk. The items on offer elevate basic items by including subtle but considered design elements, along with blank labels that can be customised by buyers. Targeting artists, designers, small businesses and entrepreneurs, the brand also encourages customers to add their own stamp to garments – using fabric pens, iron-on stickers, embroidery or various printing methods.

To mark the launch of the wholesale format, H&M is also partnering with three creatives to showcase how full collections can be created using Blank Staples garments as the starting point.

In this way, the brand is demonstrating how its supply chains and models can support smaller ventures which tune into DIY Dressing mindsets.

As China’s domestic tourism industry continues to flourish, research from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism revealed that Labour Day travel has reached record highs.

During the five-day national holiday – on 1–5 May – some 230m domestic trips were made across the country, a year-on-year increase of 120%. And on the first day of the holiday alone, 18.8m passengers used China’s railways, a new high for the number of passengers travelling by train in a single day.

This rise in tourism is particularly apparent on the island of Hainan, which is becoming a popular luxury retail destination due to its duty-free offerings.

To discover more on the post-lockdown mindsets of Chinese travellers – and the ways that businesses are responding – read our dedicated Chinese Travel Market.