You know the type- the gormless supervisor with the personality of a fish, or even worse, the sales assistant who just won’t leave you alone! Well if you think retail is your forte and you have a real passion to sell products and services to customers, then an apprenticeship in retail may just be your therapy!
What’s it about?
Retail covers a whole host of businesses, from small independent shops to nationwide chains and megastores. You could be working in one of a number of different product areas, from clothing and furniture, to markets and mail order. Retail skills are transferable so there’s no limit as to where you can’t work in the trade once you qualify.
As an apprentice, you could be assisting customers on the sales floor of a high street store or handling their purchases. Alternatively, you could be working in a specialist department, becoming an expert in a specific product, making you a customers dream when asking you queries regarding the product.
An artistic flare could point you in the direction of visual merchandising, helping to create window and in-store displays. Or you could work behind the scenes in stock handling, ensuring products are received in the correct quantities and appropriately stored.
On the advanced apprenticeship, your training will focus on a more specific role to gain greater skills in your preferred speciality. You will handle more responsibility and gain important management skills which will serve you well in a variety of product areas!
Who’s it for?
You need to have the right attitude. Apprentices need to be interested in retail and show enthusiasm for the retailer, their products and services. It’s also important to be self motivated and energetic if you want to succeed.
You must be mature, confident and responsible as you’ll need to be able to handle all situations that arise. That means dealing with crisis situations such as staff shortages, managing staff, shop lifters and the dreaded customers from hell!
Plus, be presentable! Dress and appearance counts- retailers need to know that you fit in with their image that they wish to portrait to their customers.
What do I get out of it?
From organising displays to learning the crucial aspects of management, the skills gained from a retail apprenticeship are transferable to all retail companies, so you’ll never get tied down to one area of products or services.
With a young workforce, the UK’s retail sector is vibrant and offers many opportunities for early career progression- once qualified you can expect a salary from £11k-£15k.
In England, Northern Ireland and Wales the basic level 2 framework of this apprenticeship consist of, an NVQ, Key Skills and a technical certificate. While in Scotland, apprentices work towards just an SVQ.
Retail can be an exciting but testing environment and if you complete the advanced apprenticeship, you could be supervising your own store and implementing your own ideas to make your store more successful!
What vacancies are there?
Check out our retail apprenticeship vacancies section to find the right opportunity for you!
