in retail Business

Bringing learning to life

“the qualifi cation will

give youngsters a

thorough grounding in

every aspect of retail

and a new set of skills

and knowledge that

will enable them to

make a difference from

the day they start work.

retailing comprises a

whole range of careers

from buying, selling and

logistics to fi nance and

management. By taking

the diploma, youngsters

will open themselves to

an array of challenging

possible careers.”

John king, ceo House of Fraser,

employer champion for the

diploma in retail Business

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The UK’s single biggest private sector employer – retail – provides around three million jobs and is a major contributor to the economy. In 2007, the retail sales of £265 billion amounted to more than the combined economies of Portugal and Denmark!

As diverse as it is large, the sector provides enormous scope for rewarding career choices in areas such as buying, logistics, supply chain, visual merchandising, business management, marketing, accounting and IT.

If you want to work in a dynamic, exciting, fast-paced sector that’s set to expand even further in the next few years, the business of retail could be right up your street.

Build essential skills and experience

The Diploma in Retail Business takes you behind the shop front to explore every stage of the retail process, from source to supply to sale. Not only that, it will equip you with an understanding of what it takes to set up and run your own business.

You’ll also get lots of practical experience and develop the confidence, motivation, enterprise and creativity that you’ll need to flourish in this ever-changing environment.

Be part of a

dynamic sector

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The Diploma in Retail Business covers a broad range of topics, including:

Retail operations: Looks at sourcing products, merchandising, stock control, selling and customer service.

Business management: Looks at marketing, strategies for change, HR and team dynamics.

Supply chain: Looks at the journey of a product from its source through transportation and storage to disposal, including recycling.

Creative and design: Explores store layout and visual merchandising.

Embedded throughout these topics are essential skills and knowledge like engaging with people, technology, business administration skills, and safety and security, as well as wider issues such as globalisation, sustainability, and ethical and environmental considerations.

How is tHe diploma made up?

Principal learning (subject learning you have to do)

At the heart of the Diploma are your core retail business subjects. These will teach you the main things you need to know about the sector. You’ll learn about the issues that are affecting the industry today, how it works and what skills you need to have to work within it.

What will I learn?

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Foundation diploma HigHer diploma advanced diploma

At Foundation level, you will gain a broad overview of retailing and the retail environment. You’ll learn how important it is to be enterprising, about the retail supply chain and how retail outlets work, as well as selling techniques and customer service.

You could, for example, work as part of a team, setting challenging goals and monitoring progress towards them.

You might take part in a project developing a retail channel, which involves a series of investigative and creative tasks, and be supported by an online mentor.

You might use role play to show how you would build positive relationships with customers.

At Higher level, you’ll look at the external factors that lead to change and investigate the relative merits of different retail channels. You’ll focus more closely on how a retail outlet’s layout and presentation affect sales, and look at stock control systems and processes.

You could create promotional materials for a real retail channel or develop a new brand.

As a group, you might develop an extension to a product range that matches customer profiles.

You could analyse a retailer’s distribution chain and describe how they can maximise capacity and make it more efficient.

At Advanced level, you’ll look at the emerging trends driving the sector, set up and operate a retail channel of your own and study the marketing strategies of retail businesses. You’ll explore how visual merchandisers display products and look at the theories and models of team dynamics.

You could review a marketing strategy and suggest improvements or devise a strategy for dealing with change.

You might design a visual merchandising installation to meet a design brief, and then install it.

You could use role play to demonstrate how you motivate people and measure team performance.

activities you migHt do in your principal learning

These are just some examples of the kind of learning you’ll be doing.

05

06

additional and specialist learning (cHoices you can make)

At each level, you can develop your particular interests in retail business further by taking more specialist courses relating to your chosen subject and career ambitions.You could, for example, learn about logistics, automotive manufacturing, leadership and management, food safety or fashion and beauty retailing.

Or you might choose a GCSE or A level in subjects like design and technology or business studies, which would help you get onto a university course.

You can also broaden your course by taking an additional subject that reflects your other interests and career ambitions – like a language, or a creative subject like music.

Functional skills in englisH, matHs and ict

Like all Diploma students, you’ll develop a good standard of English, maths and ICT. These subjects are essential to succeed in any business or learning environment, whether you decide to continue in the retail business sector or not.

personal, learning and tHinking skills

All Diploma students will develop personal, learning and thinking skills, such as team-working, creative thinking and self-management. These are vital skills in both life and work, and will be useful to you in the future, no matter which path you take.

work experience

Your Diploma will give you the opportunity to do at least10 days’ work experience. This could be in a large retail chain of high street stores or with a small independent retailer, shadowing a visual merchandiser or a buyer for a department store. Whatever you do, this is a great way to use the knowledge, understanding and skills you have learnt in the classroom, and experience what work is like from the inside.

student proJects

During your Diploma, you’ll complete a student project to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that you have learnt.

You might decide to explore the ethics of sourcing products from international manufacturers. Or you could design a new retailer to enter into the UK market or compare how a range of online retailers promote and sell their products.

07

a diploma in retail Business will give you the skills you need for either university or work, and is a first step towards a career in the sector.

It could lead you to a university degree in business and management, logistics or retail buying. Or it could help you begin a career in health and safety, HR, packaging or product design, sales or visual merchandising.

However, the Diploma in Retail Business doesn’t mean you have to opt for a career in this sector. Because a Diploma teaches a mix of subjects, it will give you the skills that will be welcomed by colleges, universities and employers, no matter what you choose to do.

What a Diploma

will lead to

08

09

Student example

tHe year is 2012. tHis could Be tHe experience oF one diploma student.

meet oliver, a diploma in retail Business student.

Oliver, 15, is studying for a Higher Diploma in Retail Business.

‘ I became interested in retail after taking part in an enterprise project where we designed, sourced and sold ethical products at school events. I loved the interaction with my schoolmates and got a real buzz from having to make quick decisions. It really taught me about commercial skills and ever since then I’ve wanted to work in retail.’

wHat i will learn…

The Diploma will teach me everything I need to know about retail, from sourcing and supply chains to sales. Everyonein the country needs retail and I will get to know about how really big companies work. I will also learn about product branding, technology and the principles of store layout. As well as the mandatory units, I will also carry on studying French because retail is a worldwide business and I think being able to speak another language will help me a lot.

i’m looking Forward to...

I’m most looking forward to working on projects withthe other students in my class to develop product ranges for different customers and seeing how products are developed in big companies. This will let me compare my experiences to what actually happens. Work experience will be fun too because I’ll get to work in a real business. By the end of the Diploma, I will have a good understanding of retail as a whole.

tHe Future...

After the Diploma I think I’d like to take a Retail Management Degree and then go to a famous name in retail for a training programme. After that I’d really love to own my business. I’m not sure what I want to sell yet but I know my Diploma will help me make the business a success.

This case study is an illustration of how and why a student might decide to do a Diploma. It does not refer to a real individual.

“the diploma in retail Business

has the best opportunity to

achieve the right balance of

academic, subject-related and

specialist subjects. with the

right design and delivery, the

diploma should be a step

towards addressing the skills

gaps in the sector.”

cathy Hart, senior lecturer in

retailing, loughborough university,

chair of the consortium of retail

universities and He representative

on the steering group for the

diploma in retail Business.

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To find out more about the Diploma in Retail Business, speak to your teacher or careers adviser. You can also find more information about Diplomas on these websites:

www.direct.gov.uk/diplomas www.connexions-direct.com www.diplomainretailbusiness.com

downloading tHis leaFlet

If you’d like to download this leaflet, go to http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas/news_and_features

Finding a course in your area

If you’d like to find out where you can study for this Diploma in your area, go to http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas/where_you_learn

Want to find

out more?

11

You can download this leaflet or order copies online at www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications. Search using reference DCSF-00277-2009.

You can also order more copies by calling 0845 60 222 60; textphone 0845 60 555 60. Please quote reference 00277-2009LEF-EN.

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