Ready for Retail
Calling all Retail Managers and Jobseekers! Are you ready for retail?
Service Skills Australia is seeking individuals and retailers who would be interested in participating in this pilot project.
You can access our Ready for Retail website at www.readyforretail.com.au
For employers
Ready for Retail can:
- Develop job descriptions in retail-friendly language that is mapped to units of competence from the Retail Training Package (SIR07)
- Compare job descriptions developed for your organisation to full retail qualifications available
- Assist in the identification and development of new and existing job roles within your organisation
- Assist you to identify ‘skills gaps’ in your organisation – amongst existing workers
- Post job details onto a job board that will allow you to compare registered jobseekers to the advertised position in terms of skills required/desired
- Offer workforce planning and development through feedback received from this pilot
Service Skills Australia has dedicated staff that will meet with you and guide you through the tool’s capabilities.
For jobseekers or existing workers in the retail industry
Ready for Retail can:
- Provide you with a free retail skills assessment
- Compare your existing skills (in retail friendly language) to nationally recognised retail qualifications and units of competence
- Can identify the transferrable skills from other related industries to job roles within the retail industry
- Illustrate your ‘skills’ gaps to obtaining existing qualifications in retail – which can assist you in obtaining ‘gap training’ or Recognition of Prior Learning towards a full qualification
- Offer insight into the types of skills employers are looking for in different retail positions
More information
For more information, or if you would like to participate in this pilot please contact Alastair Wilson on 02 8243 1200 or email awilson@serviceskills.com
Background
Service Skills Australia secured funding under the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relation’s Industry Training Strategies Programme (ITSP) for this project - Ready for Retail: Workforce Development for the Retail Industry.
The project will develop, pilot, evaluate and promote a model for identifying the skill requirements of businesses operating within the retail industry together with the delivery of training and assessment (using an Australian Apprenticeship Pathway or other delivery model) to meet business skill requirements
The project will target small, medium and large enterprises operating in the retail sector across Australia, and pilot the delivery of traineeships from the retail industry training package to new entrant or existing workers.
During the pilot skill requirements of employers will be determined and mapped to qualifications from the retail industry training package using a workforce development tool contextualised specifically to the retail industry. The contextualisation of this tool, a central output of the project, will translate plain English employer skills needs into qualifications (with Australian Apprenticeship Pathways) from the retail industry training package.
The existing skills and knowledge of people employers are seeking to train will be identified in plain English and mapped to the skill requirements articulated by employers.
Three key pieces of information will be generated as a result of this process:
- A report identifying the qualification from the retail industry training package that best fits the skill requirements of employers;
- A report identifying the skill areas where new staff or existing employees may have a case for RPL;
- A report matching the self nominated skills of employees to the skill requirements determined by employers.
These reports will guide the targeted delivery of gap training, recognition of prior learning (RPL) and assessment to drive business productivity.
To help support registered training organisations (RTOs) assess competence in the workplace, professional development workshops and supporting material will be developed and conducted for RTOs scoped to deliver from SIR07. These workshops and materials will focus on how to incorporate the workforce development tool into RTO operations and best practice techniques for workplace based delivery of training and assessment and the use of digital media in the collection of workplace based evidence to support assessment.
Finally a register of RTOs capable of providing workplace based training and assessment will be developed and promoted to the retail industry for the provision of training and assessment services.
At the conclusion of the project the success of the pilot will be evaluated and a range of materials developed and promoted to industry including a final report (with the delivery model) the online workforce development tool, RTO register, professional development workshops and supporting materials for RTOs, and an information kit comprising of case studies and fact sheets.
At the completion of the project Service Skills Australia will have developed:
- An online workforce development tool contextualised to the needs of the retail industry and an RTO register providing easily accessible information on RTOs able to deliver work place based training and assessment
- A professional development workshop targeted to RTOs scoped to deliver from SIR07
- Information sheets and case studies detailing the knowledge gained during the conduct of the project.
An industry led project
The need for this project has been identified through Service Skills Australia’s direct and current experience in the retail industry and broad consultation with small and large Australian employers and industry bodies for the SIR07 Retail Training Package.
The retail industry is the largest employing industry in Australia, with more than 1.5 million workers, 15% of the Australian workforce. The industry has grown by 154,000 over the past five years at 2.1% per annum. Source: Australian Jobs 2008.
The retail and wholesale industry is mainly made up of small and medium sized businesses. In 2007, the sector includes over 244,000 businesses and supported a large number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large employers as well as retail chains and franchising companies
Nearly two thirds of workers in Retail Trade do not hold post-school qualifications suggesting this industry provides good entry level opportunities and, in light of its high proportion of part-time employment, it also provides opportunities for students combining study and work.
The predominant occupational group in the sector are Sales Assistants – the largest single occupation in Australia. Collectively, Sales Assistants, Checkout Operators, Cashiers and Shop Managers account for more than half of the retail industry workforce. Source: Australian Jobs 2008.
Current labour market figures show:
- 460,900 workers are classified as sales assistants
- 121,800 workers classified as Checkout Operators and Cashiers
- 174,300 workers classified as Shop Mangers
Source: Australian Jobs 2008.
Job prospects are classed as good and the vacancy level for Sales Assistants is HIGH. Vacancies arising from job changing (Sales Assistants changing employers) are expected to provide 45 per cent of vacancies, compared with 51 per cent from job openings (Sales Assistants leaving the occupation) and 4 per cent from new jobs (employment growth for Sales Assistants). Source: DEEWR estimates of future employment growth, DEEWR consultancy with CEET.
