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Derby boost for retail

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East Midlands cities Derby and Leicester have been named as two of the first areas in the country to take part in a national scheme to revive the recession-hit retail sector.

Derby College's Retail Skills Shop in The Spot - opposite the Westfield Shopping Centre, was announced as a founder member of the National Skills Academy for Retail - a Government backed network of training centres designed to increase productivity in the sector.

Staff from the college were formally welcomed to the academy at a London launch attended by Dragons; Den star Theo Paphitis and CEOs from top retailers including Sainsbury's and John Lewis.

Led by Skillsmart Retail and the LSC, the National Skills Academy for Retail has been hailed as a key way to help retailers to develop their staff’s potential, improve their performance and prepare for the economic upturn. This is especially important in the East Midlands where there are 20,007 retail businesses employing 191,457 people – or 8 per cent of the total retail workforce in England.

The Derby Skills Shop includes a mock shop and specialist training and IT rooms designed for local business needs. As part of the national network, its services will be expanded to include delivering the Diploma in Retail Business, pre-employment training, Apprenticeships, retail customer service programmes and providing retail work experience opportunities.

Richard Page, Manager of Derby College Retail Skills Shop, said: "Allowing everyone access to a one stop shop to engage in training and business support will be beneficial. Locally we aim to improve the effectiveness of the smaller businesses, and nationally the staff skills levels should be raised – helping learners to go on to rewarding careers."

Retailer and star of BBC1's Dragon's Den Theo Paphitis said: "Training is vital to the success of retailers and the Derby Skills Shop will help both employees and employers find the right training for their business. Whether it is an Apprenticeship, retail customer service programme or work experience opportunity, it will be an important part of Derby life and provide a timely boost to the retail sector."

Another East Midlands centre announced as a member of the academy was the Retail Skills Centre in Leicester.

To find out more, go to the National Skills Academy for Retail website at www.nsaforretail.com

Pictured at the Retail Academy launch are, left to right: Richard Page,
Manager of Derby College Retail Skills Shop, Lord Young, Sadie Wilde-Piercy, Derby College; Kath Schofield, Director of Retail at Derby Collge and Theo Paphitis.