The Retailer Summer Edition 2022

SUMMER 202 2

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Chart 3: Apprenticeship starts on retail specific standards by length of employment

Retail apprenticeships provide positive social impact. The retail industryhas always been an engine of social mobility, it is no different for apprentice ships in the retail trade. In the 2020/21 academic year just under 24% of all apprenticeship starts attributed to retail trade came from the 20%most deprived areas of the country, 4% more compared to the national picture. Apprenticeships are here to stay. As educational initiatives go, apprentice ships enjoycross-partyesteem.While history suggests this in no shield from national policy changes or the occasional set of reforms, apprenticeships will be a feature of tomorrow. The end-point assessment advantage The current benefits and prospects of apprenticeships are clear, but get ting the programmes right is not straightforward. The best apprenticeship schemes are run by teams able to provide time, informed support and steady attention to year-on-year improvement. Key to this isworkingwith the right partners. An overlooked but important component of getting the best out of your apprenticeships is choosing the right end-point assessment organisation.All contemporaryapprenticeships require end-point assessment, an important summative test of what apprentices know and can do. End-point assessment organisations administer these tests, acting as gatekeepers of quality aswell as providers of support and advice for under standing thepotential and limits of the apprenticeship standards onoffer.The choice of end-point assessment organisation is ultimatelydown to retailers, whether this choice is given thorough attention or left to training providers. Fashion andRetailAwards exists tomake this choicemeanmore to the retail industry.All proceeds fromour end-point assessment operation goback into boosting and diversifying the retail talent pipeline, extending opportunity and inspiring the next generation. We bring retail and assessment experts to the task of end-point assessment while making a direct contribution to the ‘S’ in ESG on behalf of our partners. If you’re interested in this agenda or our insights, we’d love to hear from you.

Source: Department for Education national statistics

The age of apprentices on retail-specific standards remained remarkably stable through the pandemic. The age profile dispels myths that appren ticeships are just for those fresh out of education, as individuals under the age of 25 comprised less than half of all starts in 2020/21. The opportunityof apprenticeships It is clear that retailers active in the apprenticeship space continued to see value, sustaining scaled-down schemes even through the darkest days of the pandemic. Early data on the first two quarters of 2022/23 suggest cautious levels of recruitment continue. However, compared to the sheer size of retail’sworkforce, apprenticeships are underutilised. There are a number of factors which suggest this is unlikely to continue: Young adultswill increasinglychoose apprenticeships over further andhigher education. Recent changes to student loan repayment terms, and the steady introduction of higher-level apprenticeships standards, will accelerate this trend. The trade-off facing school leavers will soon be between University and a lifetime of debt or an apprenticeship and a regular pay check. This contrast will matter more in adverse economic conditions and increasingly shape the choices of the next generation. Thearithmeticofapprenticeship investment has improved.Theapprenticeship levy is unlikely to disappear given the state of the public purse. This means larger organisations pay for trainingwhether they run apprenticeship or not and the costs are minimised for smaller organisations. Incentive payments for younger apprentices look set to continue. The range of apprenticeship standards relevant to the retail industry has also been steadily increasing; while there are no guarantees that these standards will continue to be developed or maintained, more options are available than ever before.

Christian Amadeo chris.amadeo@fashionandretailawards.com fashionandretailawards.com/