People that work in this industry all have something to do with selling and providing a service to customers. Some of the jobs are doing the actual selling and others deal with customer enquiries - or complaints after a sale has been made. You need to have good communication skills for this kind of work.

In retail, you can work in an area that interests you - like fashion, sports, music or books - without needing many qualifications. But, as in most areas of work, the more qualifications you have, the higher up the ladder you may be able to start.

Below you'll find links to videos created by employers and organisations in the sector to help you get a taste of what working in this sector is like.

Videos:

Industry Insight - Careers in Retail: Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to work in the retail industry? Careers Jersey interviewed Waitrose staff based in Jersey to answer your questions on what working in the retail industry is really like.

Career Advice on becoming a Customer Service Co-ordinator: Wendy H has worked for Ulster Carpet Mills for nearly thirty years. 

Day in the life of a Sales Manager: The top 3 posted job titles in sales management are Retail Supervisors, Sales Team Leaders, and Assistant Managers.

Subject Guide Videos:
An impartial guide to university courses - featuring expert speakers and on demand webinars.
These impartial videos support students who are considering university to make informed future subject decisions. They feature guest speakers from a range of different universities, who are always experts in the subject being explored.

Unifrog Free Webinars:

Live webinars across a variety of careers - requires booking.

Adviza Podcasts and Past Webinars:

We have recorded many useful webinars with a huge variety of employers and sector champions. Have a look in our Past Webinar section.

The webinars are in date order. You may want to check out these dates to find webinars in relation to retail and customer services

• 29th March 2022 - Employer Webinar (Ikea)

Don't forget to have a look at the upcoming webinars in our Events section!

Virtual work experience opportunities:

Vodafone Innovators Work Experience Program

For year 12 students.

You’ll learn about key areas of Vodafone’s business from Digital, Technology, Brand & Marketing, Consumer and Sales. You’ll meet diverse professionals from the different business areas and hear inspiring career stories. 

IGD’s virtual work experience: The food and grocery industry is growing, with jobs to suit everyone.  IDG's programme provides insight into the diverse range of opportunities our industry has to offer and helps participants develop the skills they need through live interactive workshops and hands-on projects. There are 3 mini projects to choose from, which revolve around designing a brand, flavour and packaging for a new snack. Projects are optional and we do not expect you to have any previous knowledge or experience. But we would encourage everyone to do a project! It is a great opportunity to develop your skills and gain feedback.

Speakers For Schools

Try different jobs in real life through free VWEX so you can find the best fit for you.  Speakers for Schools are a non-profit organisation offering free UK-wide work experience. 

Explore Forage Work Experience Programs  

Media to Explore:

Many young people have been inspired by TV shows, movies etc. to follow a particular career. We have collated some resources here for you to discover. We have included podcasts because they are the best way to get real insight into the industry’s current dynamics and are a great way to demonstrate knowledge and passion in personal statements and interviews.

Please note, we have not specified the platforms for these resources as they can change over time. We suggest you do a web search for the title – you will often find them on YouTube in their entirety. Some titles will only be available for a fee or subscription.

Please be aware that not all of the titles below are appropriate for all ages. Please check the age appropriateness before watching. Common sense media are a good resource to use to do this.

TV Factual: Mary Queen of Shops, Supershoppers, Buy It Now, Inside Poundland, Inside the Supermarket, Amazon’s Retail Revolution, The Future of the High Street, Transport for London, The Complainers, Customer (dis)service

TV Drama: Mr Selfridge

Radio & Podcasts: Resilient Retail, Retail Soundbites, unEdited Inside Retail, The Retail Exchange. Beyond the queue, Inside Customer Support, The Modern Customer

Useful Websites:

Retail

Bira (British Independent Retailers Association) Training - offers training, including distance-learning courses, for retail employees in small- to medium-sized firms.

IGD - an organisation providing commercial insight through retail analysis and research into social impact. Offers various learning opportunities and employability programmes.

People 1st International - an industry-led organisation concerned with developing skills in retail.

Ask at customer service desks within stores, or contact individual retailers about possible vacancies. Shops may display job adverts in their windows or on in-store noticeboards. Vacancies may also be advertised in local papers, on employer websites, at the Jobcentre Plus and through www.gov.uk/find-a-job. Retail jobs can also be found through agencies and specialist recruitment sites, such as:
Retail Choice
Retail Jobs
Drapers Jobs (for fashion retail opportunities)

Retail Week magazine and its associated site carry industry news and information.

Target Jobs for information on graduate careers in retail, including graduate job vacancies and internships.

CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply) - click on 'For individuals' for information on careers in procurement.

Fashion Retail Academy - for information on courses related to fashion buying and merchandising, view:

People 1st International - an industry-led organisation concerned with developing skills in retail.

Sales

Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP)

Jobs in sales are advertised in local and national newspapers (and on their associated websites) and through recruitment agencies. Specialist recruitment sites for sales staff include:
Clearly Sales
Simply Sales
Pharmiweb - for pharmaceutical and medical sales jobs.
Chase People - for graduate medical sales rep roles.

The Institute of Customer Service

CCMA (Call Centre Management Association) - for information on training and job vacancies.

CCA (Customer Contact Association)

You can view vacancies on specialist recruitment sites, such as:
Call Centre Recruitment 
Cactus Search

Management

The majority of the following bodies - plus others we don't have room to list here - offer membership as well as management qualifications and/or courses in their specialist areas of the work

CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) 
The Chartered Governance Institute 
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK - CILT(UK) 
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) 
The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) 
Chartered Management Institute (CMI) 
The Chartered Quality Institute (CQI)
The Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) 
ILM 
Institute of Management Services 
Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM)