Careers advisors increasingly favour retail as they lose confidence in finance careers, new research by Skillsmart Retail has claimed.
The 2009 results of its annual survey of 402 careers advisors showed a marked improvement in perceptions of the retail industry and a trend against banking and finance since the study first took place five years ago.
Skillsmart Retail put the changes down to the combined effect of the economic downturn and retailers’ efforts to make careers in the sector more appealing.
Anne Seaman, chief executive of Skillsmart Retail, said: “The economic downturn and the banking crisis have no doubt had an effect on the perceptions of working in finance, but I think retailers have also played a large part in improving the image of retail jobs.
“Over the past few years there has been a big effort amongst retailers to reward their staff and recognise their contributions – whether that is through increased pay and benefits or recognising achievements through qualifications and apprenticeships.
“Their efforts have clearly been recognised in this study. It is a real boost for retail and its three million workers across the UK, and we look forward to perceptions of this dynamic sector improving yet further as we move into a new decade.”
The study, Quantifying Perceptions of the Retail Sector has been carried out annually for Skillsmart Retail by BMG Research since 2004. It asks career influencers such as college and university and Connexions advisors about their perceptions of retail and asks them to choose which sector is ‘best to work in’ – finance and banking, retail or hospitality.
The 2009 results found that just 37% of advisors believed that finance and banking is the best – a decrease from 48% in 2004.
In the same period, those rating retail as the best rose from 13% to 21%. Hospitality remained relatively stable – rising from 22% to 25%.
The study also revealed that nearly nine in ten (88%) of advisors now believe that retail develops skills useful in any workplace and that 84% think that it offers a wide range of opportunities for people of all ages.
