Apprenticeships presented as a solution for retailers to survive the recession

More than 80 major players in the retail sector gathered at Londonís Excel Centre for a Skillsmart Retail Apprenticeship event hosted by Theo Paphitis.

The seminar, held during National Apprenticeship Week, gave retailers the opportunity to learn more about why investing in apprentices is good for business, especially during the recession.

Speakers at the seminar organised by Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for Retail, included Hayley Tatum, Tescoís UK Operations Personnel Director, Therese Edmonds, Training Manager at Boothís Supermarkets, Hilary Chadwick of the National Employer Service and Skillsmart Retailís Employer Engagement Director Simon Blower.

Theo Paphitis – the Retail Apprenticesí Champion - talked about how retail had become his passion after training on-the-job at Watches of Switzerland as a teenager in the 1970s. He went on to tell the retailers from companies including Harrods, Tesco, Boots, P&O and M&S why his Apprenticeship meant so much to him.

He said: ìI left school and didnít have a clue what I was going to do. I turned up for work on the first day and it changed my life – that was it. I felt that for the first time in my life I actually had self-esteem. All of a sudden I was an authority on something. Now, I canít think of wanting to do anything else.î

Tescoís Hayley Tatum, said that in the past five years, the countryís biggest retailer had taken on 2,000 apprentices and in the last financial year, more than 50 per cent had been promoted – clear proof of the business benefits of Apprenticeships.

She said: ìInvesting in good-quality training that we are sure can deliver a return on our investment is what we are all looking for. In our experience, weíve had better retention rates among our Apprentices.

ìThe programme requires candidates to multi-skill around the store and they get practical, on-the-job, real-life experience across a whole range of disciplines, core skills and customer service. In this climate, when we need to be flexible and fleet of foot as volumes and customer demands change, weíve got the flexibility with that workforce.î

Therese Edmonds from Boothís Supermarkets - recently voted the second best food retailer in the world - told the retailers that companies would see the rewards of investing time in apprentices and that there is lots of help to get started.

She said: ìMotivated apprentices need motivated colleagues – thatís me and you. We get out what we put in. 84 per cent of Boothís management team are home-grown – we feed them well. We have been supported by Skillsmart Retail and an awarding organisation who are focused on our business needs and who help us in a very proactive way.î

Both Hilary Chadwick and Simon Blower told the audience that the National Employer Service and Skillsmart Retail were working together with employers to make the Apprenticeship model fit their individual businesses and to make access to funding as simple as possible during the economic downturn.

Simon Blower said: ìThere is a very strong and flexible government stream of funding now available for you to take into your business and for you to access in order to skill and train your people for when the better times come. This funding allows companies to add value to their in-house training for individuals.

ìNow is the time. The very strongest brands we see are the organisations that are investing now in people and their brand so they can really take advantage of the economic upturn when it comes.î