A recruitment and awareness campaign has been launched to encourage school leavers to consider retail as a career following last month’s A-Level and GCSE results.
The Guernsey Retail Group (GRG) is showcasing the range of benefits of working in retail to local students who have just received their exam results. The GRG estimates there are 200 on-Island vacancies in retail alone, representing around 8% of the total available positions and it is determined to tap into the pool of young, local talent to fill some of the roles.
Kenny McDonald of the GRG said: “Our industry offers a variety of opportunities, from salespersons to buyers, marketing to store management, merchandising, window dressing and non-customer facing opportunities.
“By targeting school leavers, we believe we can show that retail is a viable alternative to some of the more mainstream sectors on-Island and it is not just about selling products. It can provide career potential, versatility and teamwork along with a range of roles and job fulfilment. Retail helps individuals enhance life skills, plus it is also flexible, sociable and fun.”
The GRG is running programmes in management, skills and leadership through the College of Further Education. They are designed to help employers develop their employees’ retail skills, management and leadership with each staff member gaining a nationally recognised technical, profession and vocation qualification.
Mr McDonald added: “Retail in Guernsey is a vibrant, ever evolving industry, despite the challenges of the higher costs of living that we are all experiencing.
“A lack of talent is, however, constraining our growth so by running the campaign, we hope to encourage some of this young, untapped pool to consider working in our sector locally. Our hope is that retail will become the sought after profession as it is in other countries.”
