The British Retail Consortium is a big supporter of National Apprenticeship Week, which launched this week.

The British Retail Consortium is a big supporter of National Apprenticeship Week, which launched this week.

This national, cross-industry, campaign is coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, and is a welcome celebration of the positive impact apprenticeships have on individuals, and the businesses that employ them.

As retailers, we have always recognised the vital importance of training and developing people, young or old. Our members are leaders in embedding a culture of learning and development in their businesses and with over three million people employed in the sector in total, and a high percentage of young people, apprenticeships are a natural fit for our industry.

Apprenticeships can offer a wide range of exciting opportunities for current team members, and those who want to access a new career in retail through them. They go far beyond work experience, giving people an opportunity to work for a real employer, earn a real salary and gain a real qualification whilst learning valuable workplace skills.

The variety of options is extraordinary. From textiles, to sales, through craft skills like baking, to management training, logistics, digital opportunities and people development. Apprenticeships are proving an important and growing way of building up skills. The programmes our members offer open up opportunities for a huge range of people.

As we all know, you really can start on the shop floor and work your way to the top in retail. With so many senior executives in our industry starting just like that, we have a proud record of developing people. If they apply themselves well, when they complete their qualification, retail apprentices can look forward to a long and rewarding career in one of Britain’s most exciting industries.

And while Lord Alan Sugar may only take on one apprentice a year, our figures show that tens of thousands of apprenticeships have been created over the last decade in retail. Each one is an opportunity for the apprentice to learn vital skills, as well as for the employer to benefit from the fresh thinking and energy of the apprentice.

So we welcome the start of National Apprenticeship Week. And I look forward to meeting this year’s new cohort of retail apprentices, as they begin to make their mark in our fascinating industry.

Helen Dickinson is director general of the British Retail Consortium