Moulding future retail managers

Major retailers have been talking for months about the importance of maintaining investment in people during the recession, and their point couldn’t have been made clearer at Skillsmart Retail’s annual parliamentary reception last week.

The House of Commons event, Upskilling for Recovery, brought together major retailers and MPs to discuss why training is vital for businesses during economic uncertainty.

Skillsmart had enlisted the support of two major names in retail to spread the word – House of Fraser chief executive John King and Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King. The latter pointed out that staff turnover has reduced dramatically in the five years since he has been at the helm of the grocer, partly because unrelenting investment in people had made colleagues feel it was a fulfilling place to work.

He also urged retailers to stop making largely futile complaints about flaws in the education system that result in thousands of unskilled, unqualified school leavers ending up working in retailers’ stores. “You can bitch about it all you like, but I think we need to engage those 16-year-olds,” said the Sainsbury’s chief.

The grocery giant is an advocate of the apprenticeship programme and Skills for Life – a self-learning course that helps improve people’s core skills in areas such as English and maths. Since November, about 400 of its store staff have enrolled.

John King believes retail can “give young people a platform to establish a career for life”. He explained: “We believe it is people that make a difference in an organisation and in challenging times we must continue to support their development.”

House of Fraser is heavily involved in the Diploma in Retail Business – a qualification being offered to those at secondary school or college. The first courses will run in September next year, and John King said he will be writing to other retailers to encourage them to get involved. “It gives people a knowledge of industries when they leave school so they can hit the ground running,” he said.

If there is one thing that all retailers can do to prepare their businesses for life after the recession, it is ensuring their staff are able to react to change. It is these businesses that will emerge stronger, more competitive and more successful.

Skillsmart Retail chairman Martin Beaumont says: “Those retailers that invest in people to sustain and develop their skills during the recession are preparing themselves for future opportunity when the upturn arrives. Cutting that investment is simply not an option.”

Smart training

Nick Robertson, Asos chief executive and Skillsmart Retail patron, says: “This Skillsmart event has proved that investing in people’s future during difficult times is absolutely crucial. People need to know that they’re being supported in what is a dynamic industry, and in an industry that’s becoming even more dynamic every day.”