Retail promoted as career of choice at Connexions conference

Forty-five percent of careers advisors are not currently recommending careers in retail.

Thatís a statistic that Skillsmart Retail, the sector skills council for retail, aimed to reverse at the London Labour Market Conference on October 20.

Hosted by Central London Connexions, the conference attracted around 100 teachers, lecturers, trainers and careers advisers ñ all key influencers of the future workforce.

Ensuring that the retail sector was uppermost in the minds of teaching and careers professionals at the event was Skillsmart Retailís Manager for London, Fiona Stubbs.

An education and training professional with strong roots in the food and drinks industry, Fiona raised awareness of the many retail career options and pathways and provided an overview of the retail industry, recruitment trends and the changing requirements of employers. She was supported in the workshop by a member of House of Fraserís HR team.

Attendees also had the opportunity to try the VIEW Retail CD Rom ñ an IT-based application that provides young people with interactive access to the retail workplace ñ in this case, the House of Fraser store on Oxford Street. It is mapped to GCSE Applied Business, but can be used across the curriculum and as a work-based learning resource.

ìAs the audience members were key messengers on career options for young people, it was important that we dispelled the out-dated myths associated with working in the retail industry to ensure that all who can influence entry into our future workforce recognise that retail is as a credible choice of profession,î Fiona says.

In a recent survey, 12 out of 17 students cited retail as the least attractive industry to work in, despite its significance in their daily lives. Fiona says this perception comes largely from a limited understanding from outside the sector of the variety of fascinating career choices in this dynamic and evolving industry.

ìMany teachers, parents and careers advisors still think of retail as a profession of ësales assistantsí. In being unaware of the range of top careers in the sector, they are unable to promote the industry in the same light as other professions. The reality is that the industry offers a myriad of job opportunities; from customer service, retail merchandising, buying, visual display, stock control and logistics, to finance, human resources, marketing, IT and management,î she says.