Does retail have an image problem? Our 2018 Employee Perceptions Survey showed that almost 60% of retail employees think so.

While the unprecedented transformation of the industry poses many challenges to retailers, it also offers a unique opportunity to reinvent itself and its image.

As the UK’s largest private-sector employer, the retail industry is committed to equipping its colleagues with skills for the future. New technologies and channels to market, as well as changing customer behaviour, mean that new skillsets are needed in order to succeed.

As such, leaders in the retail industry need to be appropriately trained to meet these challenges.

We, at the BRC, are playing our part in helping to develop the careers of those in the industry. Our recent acquisition of OSS Retail (formerly the Oxford Summer School) will allow us to directly influence the training of colleagues across the industry as we build on its 90 years of experience in leadership development.

Nurturing the talent of future retail leaders will be essential as the industry adapts to the transforming environment.

Untapped potential

Yet, it is important not just developing existing talent, but finding untapped potential. Our Rethink Retail portal, which showcases some great people doing jobs that many wouldn’t necessarily think of when considering a career move, aims to help reposition retail as a career of choice among school-leavers, graduates and those moving from other sectors.

We want to see retail much higher up the list of career choices for people of all talents and abilities. To do that, the public must see the breadth and excitement of the opportunities that retail offers.

The future is bright for those entering the industry. The recent BRC Apprenticeship Survey found that 95% of retailers plan to increase the number of apprenticeships they offer over the next two years.

“Retail is an industry of opportunities. Many retail careers that started in the stockroom end in the boardroom”

To help retailers, we are urging the government to realise the need for increased flexibility in the way firms use their apprenticeship levy funds, including for staff time, backfilling and travel. Furthermore, we would like to see the broadening of the levy to include non-apprenticeship training too.

And it’s not just through policy changes that the BRC is making a difference. BRC Learning launched the BRC Retail Leadership and Management Level 5 Apprenticeship last year as a way of helping retailers maximise the return on their apprenticeship levy.

We are excited to be collaborating with Joules, the UK-based premium lifestyle brand, which has signed up over a dozen of its employees from functions across the business to the programme with the support of its line managers and the business.

Joules chose to work with the BRC, and our provider partner Corndel, because of the flexible delivery, the retail-customised content and the high-quality support provided by the professional development experts that enables apprenticeships to be delivered successfully in a fast-moving retail environment.

As Joules continues to grow, so does its focus on recruiting, retaining and developing the best possible people, which will secure a bright future for both the business and the workforce.

Retail is an industry of opportunities. Many retail careers that started in the stockroom end in the boardroom. Yet this opportunity relies on clear opportunities for training and progression. Together we must embrace the training opportunities that exist and share them with those outside our industry.

We have a great story to tell. Let us improve our image by telling our stories together.

BRC calls for ‘high street rethink’ as retail employment falls