John Forester, BHS; Vicki Corder, John Lewis;
Councillor Ahmed, Portfolio Holder for Employment
and Skills at Nottingham City Council; Cathie Young,
ncn; Matthew Slade, Westfield at the launch
The College is the lead training partner of Futurestore, a retail skills shop launched in June in Westfield’s Broadmarsh shopping centre. Designed to reduce unemployment in Nottingham, Futurestore aims to increase the skills base and provide the essential bridge between retailers and employees, together with offering tailored customer service programmes (including Apprenticeships) to local retailers to help up-skill their employees.
Futurestore is training local people for a career in retail, and will work with retailers throughout the city to place successful trainees of the scheme into retail jobs once they’ve qualified, as well as working with employers to provide tailored training for staff.
The initiative is a collaboration between Westfield, Nottingham City Council, the National Skills Academy for Retail, ncn and other partners from across the city.
Vicky Corder, Learning and Development Coach, John Lewis Nottingham, said: “We have great links with New College Nottingham and have always found the process and quality of their training to be excellent. One of our most promising Partners (staff) at our Nottingham shop was recruited from the college and we regularly offer work placements to its students.”
“As a company, John Lewis fully supports the National Skills Academy for Retail and the investment in retail skills training centres, not only at board level, but importantly, at a local level too. It’s vital to continually strive to up-skill and professionalise the retail sector, and the launch of Futurestore will help to develop the next generation of retailers in the local area,” she added.
Cathie Young, Futurestore Manager (and ncn staff member), said: “Local retailers tell us that Apprenticeships work for them as they allow their employees to gain relevant skills and knowledge in their place of work, whilst building their confidence.”
Partners include:
Broxtowe Borough Council, British Land [Giltbrook Retail Park], Capital Shopping Centres [The Victoria Centre], Castle College, Connexions Nottinghamshire, Guidelines Careers, Jobcentre Plus, Skills Funding Agency, Making the Connection, The National Skills Academy for Retail, New College Nottingham, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottinghamshire Training Network, Remploy, South Nottingham College, Voluntary Sector Providers, Westfield [Broadmarsh Shopping Centre], Working Links
Posted on 8 July 2010