Irish retailers entering “new age of technology”

Pictured were Minister of State for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD, Gretta NashCadden, Chairperson of the Retail Ireland Skillnet Steering Committee, Sean Carlin of Retail Ireland Skillnet and Sarah Williams of Brown Thomas

Retailers continued to embrace work based learning in the tech field in 2017, with more than 70,000 traning days registered by Retail Ireland

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Almost 70,000 training days were facilitated by Irish retailers in 2017, according to Retail Ireland Skillnet, the education and training division of Retail Ireland.

Retail Ireland Skillnet manager Sean Carlin said that changes in Ireland’s retailing landscape in recent years have been due to the growth in online retailing. Many businesses have worked to keep up with these changes, by participating in different courses as they realised the potential in unlocking new opportunities through helping their employees upskill.

“Our mission is to offer work-based training and education,” says Carlin, “which is developed by retailers and delivered at a time, place and pace to suit the sector. Courses are designed and delivered in conjunction with industry and address the challenges and opportunities faced by employers in today’s dynamic business environment.”

The concept of work-based learning is attractive to employers and employees alike, as assessments are linked to real life issues impacting retailers on a daily basis. In 2018, Retail Ireland Skillnet expects to surpass all previous years’ training numbers as retailers’ interest in work based learning and upskilling employees heightens to new levels.

Retail Ireland Skillnet’s Student of the Year 2017 was Yvonne Daly, a Spar store manager in Co. Mayo. She says the degree enabled her to generate lots of innovative ideas to bring back to improve the family business. “For example,” she says, “marketing, social media, signage and stock management are all areas that I have taken from this qualification and tailored to help improve my business.

I would absolutely recommend the degree to employees. While bigger organisations may have extra support in place, smaller businesses need opportunities like this.”

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