PARIS (Reuters) – LVMH aims to hire 25,000 people under 30 years of age by the end of 2022, the French luxury behemoth said on Wednesday, as it accelerates recruitment to meet brisk demand for high end goods.

The European luxury sector has seen a fast pace of growth in recent months, as stores reopened following lockdown periods and consumers drew on money saved during periods of confinement to splash out on pricey goods.

LVMH has more than recovered business lost to pandemic disruptions. In July, it reported first half sales grew 11 percent on an organic basis compared to the same period in 2019, before the crisis hit, fuelled by demand for clothing and accessories from its star fashion labels Louis Vuitton and Dior.

The company’s focus on recruiting younger staff comes as it seeks to bolster the popularity of its brands with younger consumers, weaving streetwear styles like cargo pants and sneakers into its luxury fashion collections.

The hiring target for the upcoming year marks an acceleration of around 20 percent compared to previous years, according to Chantal Gaemperle, director of human resources and synergies at LVMH.

The group intends to use various methods to recruit younger staff, including drawing on a company training institute in France and other countries that is focused on design, crafts and sales techniques. It plans to expand training, which covers areas such as pastry baking and vineyard techniques, and further roll out the teaching in countries including Italy, Spain, Germany and Japan.

Seeking to broaden and diversify its recruitment further still, LVMH is opening a public online training platform and says it has forged partnerships in under-privileged areas in France to recruit high school students for apprenticeships. The group said it expects to grant 2,500 long-term contracts in France along with 5,000 internships in the country, but did not provide further details on the expected geographic breakdown of its hiring plan.

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)