Morrisons has completed the first phase of its Retail Skills training programme, with over 20,000 colleagues now qualified to QCF (formerly NVQ) Level 2 ‘Retail Skills’. This is the largest number of employees ever trained on a vocational learning programme in the UK.
The supermarket says it is on course to have trained 100,000 colleagues to this level during 2011 and is further expanding its ‘Retail Skills’ programme to a number of other in-store departments, opening up training opportunities to thousands more colleagues.
The news follows the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) report, which was released last week and highlighted the importance of apprenticeships and training opportunities for the workforce. This was a message welcomed by Morrisons, which has consistently delivered leading training programmes and has remained committed to preserving traditional craft skills through the UK’s biggest and longest running retail craft skills apprenticeship programme.
Norman Pickavance, Morrisons group HR director, said: “The training our Academy provides brings direct benefits for our customers, as well as providing colleagues with the opportunity of developing their career from shop floor to top floor.
“The retail sector is of huge importance to the UK economy and we believe there are significant economic benefits when employers like ourselves make a real investment in training staff to a high standard, whether that is in traditional craft skills like butchery and bakery or retail food skills and management.”
As part of the announcement, Morrisons has revealed that it is expanding its Retail Skills scheme to colleagues working in the Café, Canteen, Petrol, Wines & Spirits, Warehouse and Home & Leisure departments.
Source: Morrisons
