A guide to careers in retail

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A guide to careers in retail
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An introduction to the retail sector

• 291,000 businesses
• 250 billion turnover per annum
• 3 million employees
• 500,000 new jobs from 2007-2010
• Retail has created more jobs than any other
  sector over the last five years

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The myths what retail isnt

• Poor salary prospects
• Graduate salaries start as high as 26k
• Long, unsociable hours
• Varied hours, giving flexibility to suit your
  lifestyle
• Not creative or stimulating
• Brand specialists and visual merchandisers to
  name just two important roles
• Dead end job
• Training programmes encourage your development
  and progress
• Anyone can do retail
• Retail Apprenticeships are a recognised route in
  29 of all graduates join the retail sector

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Careers in retail key themes

• Variety
• Progress
• Profit
• Flexibility
• Lifestyle

With a huge choice of roles and opportunities to
move around, theres something for virtually
everyone.
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Variety breaking it down

• Store operations
• HR and training
• Finance and administration
• Buying
• Customer contact centres
• Marketing
• Logistics
• IT
• Visual Merchandising

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Variety roles for everyone

• Some specialised occupations
• Sales assistant
• Brand manager
• Visual merchandiser
• Senior buyer
• Some broader occupations
• Director of Finance
• HR manager
• Web assistant
• Customer service representative
• Warehouse operative

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Progress salary and development

• Earn while you learn with an Apprenticeship
• Graduate training programmes starting salaries
  of 17k 26k
• Progression towards manager level salaries of
  60k 70k
• Great perks and extras in all posts
• Continuous professional development

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Profit from qualifications experience

• Retail Apprenticeship routes
• Retail Diploma
• Popular graduate career path from virtually all
  degrees disciplines
• Moving from other sectors
• Benefit of work experience
• summer placement
• Saturday job
• dealing with customers
• Work experience guides

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Flexibility a break from the norm

• Getting away from the 9 to 5
• Fit your life around your work
• Part-time working
• Opportunity to move around the business

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Lifestyle in your best interest

• People often buy things theyre interested in
• So who better to sell them?
• Sport, music, technology, games
• Working with products and services of personal
  interest

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Trends in retail the current market

• Retailers need to respond quickly to new fashions
  and new products
• Mobile retailing
• Internet e-tailing
• Impact on customer interface
• Websites and contact centres
• Home delivery for groceries and many other items

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Skills needs what employers want

• Employability skills
• People skills
• Sales skills
• Personal presentation
• The right attitude
• Enthusiasm and reliability
• Numeracy and literacy
• Teamworking
• Management potential

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Major recruiters some employers
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Job advert 1Administration assistant
Courtesy of inretail.com
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Job advert 2Graduateentry
Courtesy of doctorjob.com
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Job advert 3Buying
Courtesy of inretail.com
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Store directory website

• Skillsmart careers website
• www.skillsmartretail.com/careers
• Dedicated areas for careers advisers, school
  students and graduates
• Video clips
• Useful links for recruitment and career
  progression

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Store directory multimedia materials

• Retail Therapy
• Target Retail
• Skillsmart Retail game
• All linked via the Skillsmart careers website

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Store directory classroom materials

• VIEW Retail
• Virtual insight into the retail environment
• Supports vocational curriculum, Enterprise and
  work experience
• Quiz
• Find out how suited you are to a career in retail

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Careers in retail key themes

• Variety
• Vast range of businesses, roles and people
• Progress
• Great earning potential and career paths
• Profit
• Recruiters see your value whatever your degree
  work experience helps you get on too
• Flexibility
• Get away from the 9 till 5, and move around a
  diverse industry
• Lifestyle
• Match work to personal interests

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the smarter career