Retail scholarships open to charity shops for the first time
Howard Lake | 20 March 2010 | News
Skillsmart Retail (the Sector Skills Council for Retail) and retail sector charity Retail Trust are encouraging charity shop staff to apply for 10 management training scholarships worth nearly £2,000 each. The places at the Oxford Summer School have been made available exclusively to independent shops for the first time this year, “in a bid to help the high street during tough times” say the funders.
The management development programme will be held at Keble College at the University of Oxford from 21 to 27 August, and offers valuable training for would be retail leaders. It is run by the British Shops and Stores Association (bssa) and includes exercises, lectures and tutorials led by retail experts, presentations from leading retail figures, team-building events and social activities. It covers key skills such as how to manage people, money, marketing, merchandise and retail space.
Anne Seaman, Chief Executive of Skillsmart Retail said: “The Oxford Summer School is the ideal course for ambitious independent managers. It provides a broad insight into the retail world, which retailers can take back and help their businesses grow. I would encourage all charity store workers to get their applications in as soon as possible to that they don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity.”
Rebecca Sanders, an area manager for Cancer Research UK, who won a scholarship last year, said: “I would recommend this course to any retailer. I left feeling confident and ready to move forward with a clear definition of how to drive business forward and it was the most memorable and impacting week I have ever had both on a personal and business level.”
The bursaries are available to all retail employees in companies employing 1,000 people or fewer.
www.skillsmartretail.com/oxfordsummerschool
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.