Marks & Spencer is to offer homeless people work placements and training to help them find jobs.

The retail giant is launching its Business Action on Homelessness project in Brighton and Hove.

The company has earmarked the city to launch the first wave of what it hopes will become a national project, following a successful pilot in London.

Volunteers who sign up for the scheme in Western Road will not only get a mixture of office and shop-floor work experience but coaching on interview techniques and how to prepare a curriculum vitae.

They will also be given clothing and shoes so they turn up for job interviews well presented and they will be provided with a reference to take to prospective employers.

Daily lunch and transport costs will be provided to encourage people not to drop out of the scheme. In the pilot, only one of the volunteers did not report for work in the second week and that was due to illness, not a lack of enthusiasm.

A personal mentor will be on hand to provide daily support to the homeless volunteers through a two-week placement.

Details and launch dates for the Brighton and Hove scheme have yet to be decided but it is hoped it will be up and running by next spring.

The Brighton and Hove project is still in the early stages of planning within the company's corporate social responsibility unit, so much so that staff at Marks & Spencer in Western Road only found out from The Argus that the scheme was being introduced to their store.

Store manager Stephanie Lewis said: "We would welcome any project where we feel we can make a difference."

Previous volunteers' jobs have included answering the telephones and dealing with staff queries, putting computer skills into practice and helping to design an advertisement to attract other homeless people to the scheme.

Ike Okongwu, 25, who had been living in a hostel for the homeless in London before he volunteered for the pilot scheme, said: "Other people will get the same as I did out of it, a lot of self-confidence.

"When you are homeless you have a desire to get a job, to find out what working in an office or working in a shop is like but you never get the chance to find out because no one will give you a chance. I'm glad Marks & Spencer gave me that chance."

Now Mr Okongwu is getting interviews, one of which is with Marks & Spencer.

Ed Williams, head of the corporate social responsibility unit, said he would encourage all other businesses in the city to follow suit and take on the homeless for work experience.

He said: "What we feel we can do is make a contribution to helping people get out of that cycle of 'no job, no home'.

"We are looking at this as a long-term initiative."

He said the company was sensitive to the fact many homeless people, through no fault of their own, often do not have access to very basic resources such as suitable work clothes, food and transport.

Michele Jobling, a member of the campaign leadership team, said: "We believe that being a good company means providing equal opportunities for all, especially those who are socially excluded for whatever reason. By trying to help those without homes and jobs, we also improve the prosperity of local communities."

In the past, Marks & Spencer has given both financial and professional backing to a range of homeless charities, including Crisis, Shelter, and London-based Centrepoint.

Volunteers will not be guaranteed a permanent job but successful candidates will be in with a chance of interviews at Marks & Spencer or at least leave the scheme with the vital skills needed to secure interviews elsewhere.

Other schemes have been planned for Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham.