Colleges Support Retail Recovery Across NI

The six Further Education Colleges in NI have collaborated to support the recovery of the retail sector supported by the Department for the Economy’s ‘Retail Recovery’ programme.

Belfast Met, Northern Regional College, North West Regional College, South Eastern Regional College, Southern Regional College and South Western Regional College, working in partnership with Retail NI, will be offering a tailored programme, fully-funded through the Department for the Economy’s Flexible Skills Fund and Skills Focus, which will include a webinar series, technical masterclasses and skills based training to support recovery of the retail sector.

Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive, Retail NI said, “The retail sector has been under huge strain since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 and has only recently become fully operational again.  Normal working practices have not been possible across the sector which is subject to continuous changes in restrictions.”

He added, “The face of retail has changed dramatically, and it is vitally important we support retail skills requirements with a co-ordinated approach from the FE colleges.”

Emma Finney, Innovation Manager, SERC’s Business Services Team said, “The Retail Recovery programme offered by the six Colleges of FE means that even the smallest, independent retailer can access support.  The programme runs from August through to December 2021 and is bite-sized to build on skills and develop new ones - participants have access to the latest thinking on marketing, branding, digital and entrepreneurial skills whilst gaining sector desirable qualifications from Level 2 through to Level 5."

The programmes commence with webinars in August and Masterclasses and courses from September 2021, please contact Debbie Scott: dscott@serc.ac.uk 

Pictured above: Aislin Trainor, Southern Regional College, Nicola Quinn, South West Regional College, Glyn Roberts, Retail NI, Clare McLaughlin, North West Regional College, Emma Finney, South Eastern Regional College, Rachel Burns, Belfast Met and Cheryl McNeill, Northern Regional College.