Sheffield becomes retail first
THE Source at Meadowhall has been named as a founder member of the Nartional Skills Academy for Retail – a government backed network of training centres designed to increase productivity in the sector.
Sheffield is one of the first cities in the country to take part in the scheme, which is designed to help revive recession hit retailers in the region.
Across Yorkshire there are more than 25,000 retail businesses employing 236,849 people – 10% of the total retail workfoce in England.
Led by Skillsmart Retail and the Learning and Skills Council, the National Skills Academy for Retail has been hailed as a key way to help retailers to develop their staff’s potential, improve their performance and prepare for the economic upturn.
The Source has already helped raise the skills of more than 2,000 employees from around 500 retailers across South Yorkshire – 180 of which are located in Meadowhall.
The Source has also taken 500 young people through its Young Apprenticeship programme and helped hundreds of adults with no qualifications get back into work since opening six years ago.
As part of the national network, it will expand its services to offer the Diploma in Retail Business, pre-employment training, Apprenticeships, retail customer service programmes and retail work experience opportunities.
Ann Cadman, The Source centre director, said: “It is a great honour to be part of the National Skills Academy for Retail.
“This national network of Skills Shops will support the retail sector by offering high quality training. The NSA is an exciting initiative that will provide bespoke business solutions nationally and we are proud to represent the NSA in South Yorkshire, supporting retailers with the development and proficiency of their workforce.”
Jane Rexworthy, head of the National Skills Academy for Retail, said: “The Source will act as a resource for everyone, from local people hoping to begin their career or get back in to work, to retailers looking for the best way to train their existing workforce.”
