With help from the skills council for the retail sector, Skillsmart Retail, and funding from the Learning Skills Council, traders have put together a progressive development initiative entitled Learning Shop, to be opened by Frank Field MP on the 26th May. Built in the historic covered market by the traders themselves, and run in partnership with Wirral Metropolitan College, the Learning Shop will enable the local community to profit from advice, guidance and skills development in everything from first aid and IT to English, Maths and NVQís in retail and merchandising. 
Whilst the courses will undoubtedly have a great effect on market employees development, i.e. qualifications in basic hygiene for food stalls, it is not just the traders who will benefit from this increase in potential through training.
The Learning Shop will also bring the option of further education to a broader, often overlooked section of the community with taster sessions available for courses at Wirral Metropolitan College. Danny Doyle, Marketing Manager for the 300 indoor and outdoor stalls, believes it is this broad community benefit that makes the scheme so important: Most of the traders have little formal education and yet all have wanted to develop further skills and learning for themselves and their community. Thanks to the invaluable support from Skillsmart Retail and the funding body, we have managed to turn the Learning Shop into an amazing and accessible service that will be a win-win situation for all involved.
The opening event will bring community recognition of the tradersí efforts whilst hopefully further raising the profile of an initiative that is already being replicated throughout the country.
The event will be held at Birkenhead Market on the 26th May.
Traders are doing it for themselves
Proactive traders from Brikenhead Market have seized initiative by setting up ílearning shopí
