Opinion: The government must level up apprenticeships

Using my phone, I can order a coffee from Starbucks or a burger from McDonald’s and collect it in-store minutes later, saving me valuable moments queuing and allowing staff to focus on delivering my order, rather than taking it.

The rise in internet shopping continues without pause, with one in five pounds currently spent online. Online retailing is becoming slicker and smarter – many businesses will predict the things I may want in the future based on the things I bought in the past.

Retailers are blurring the lines between their online and offline offering, allowing customers to browse and buy through different channels.

“Despite the multitude of challenges that face the industry, there has never been a more exciting time to be involved”

Bricks-and-mortar stores are similarly raising their game. Stores increasingly offer complementary personalised services for their customers, whether it’s medical advice from Superdrug, a foundation-matching service in Boots or advice and repair services for my latest gadgets from Currys PC World.

Customer service is no less important in the generation of internet shopping, with numerous brands known for the friendliness or expertise of their staff.

And it’s not just the customer-facing parts of retail that are being transformed. Robots whizz around distribution hubs in Amazon and Ocado, collecting and packaging deliveries ready to arrive at our door the next day. AI can analyse the huge volumes of data created by our spending decisions, allowing firms to best meet our needs in the future.

As the climate emergency unfolds across the globe, new technologies are giving rise to new ways to tackle the many sustainability challenges we face. Electric and hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are cutting carbon emissions across our supply chains, while vertical farming, where crops are grown indoors on racks, helps to reduce land use.

Challenges ahead 

The future is even more exciting. 3D-printed, bespoke items could remove the waste of excessive or unwanted stock. Predictive analysis, using innovative AI, could help all retailers estimate their demand before an item even hits the shelves. Drone delivery could get items to consumers quicker without the fleets of trucks that criss-cross our towns and cities.

Despite the multitude of challenges that face the industry – from Brexit to business rates – there has never been a more exciting time to be involved.

But technology itself is not enough – we need people with the skills to use it. From training people to maintain self-scan checkouts to the programming knowledge needed to maintain and improve websites and apps, retail requires a constantly upskilled workforce capable of taking advantage of the latest technologies.

“The rate of change in technology is matched only by the rate of change in skills needed to support it”

As the UK’s largest private-sector employer, the retail industry plays a vital part in boosting the productivity of the UK, equipping 3 million workers with the skills the industry needs now and in the future.

The rate of change in technology is matched only by the rate of change in skills needed to support it.

It is worth considering the many different approaches we will need to meet this training challenge. Next week’s National Apprenticeship Week is entitled ‘Look Beyond’ – fitting, given the need for the apprenticeship scheme to meet not just the current skills gap, but also the skill requirements of the future as well.

However, to make apprenticeships work as effectively as possible, retailers need greater flexibility in how the funds are used. With retailers paying £160m into the scheme, it is essential that these funds can be drawn down effectively.

“Retail requires employees at all skill levels – from those who manage a till, to those who design them – and the levy must support this diversity”

Sadly, the apprenticeship levy is little more than a tax for some firms. Recent pledges from the prime minister to reform it suggest that retailers are not alone in seeing the flaws in the current system.

Retail requires employees at all skill levels – from those who manage a till, to those who design them – and the apprenticeship levy must support this diversity.

This is one reason why the BRC has started offering its own bespoke retail apprenticeships. Not all training requires years of study; short courses aimed at equipping colleagues with the latest digital skills are just as essential to the success of the industry.

To help retailers get the most out of their apprenticeship levy contributions, driving productivity growth and helping those firms deliver the best service for their customers, the government should move quickly with their own promises for reform – announcing the necessary changes in the forthcoming budget.

We have a chance to level up our training system without a penny spent.