Job-related qualifications

Retail Knowledge qualifications do exactly what they say. They give learners the knowledge they need to work in retail - anything from knowing how to arrange products to make them look attractive, to understanding what makes good customer service.

• Retail Knowledge (award, certificate or diploma) - Levels 1 to 3
  Retail Knowledge qualifications do exactly what they say. They give learners the knowledge they need to work in retail - anything from knowing how to arrange products to make them look attractive, to understanding what makes good customer service.
• Retail Skills (award, certificate or diploma) - Levels 1 to 3
  Retail Skills are qualifications which recognise what people in retail can actually do and prove that they have the ability to do a job. They can focus on general retail sales or specialist roles such as beauty consultants and butchers.
• Retail Apprenticeships – Levels 2 and 3
  Apprenticeships combine the Retail Skills and Retail Knowledge qualifications as well as literacy and numeracy to give learners a great all-round on-the-job qualification. They can cover a whole range of areas, from sales to visual merchandising to management.
• Foundation Degree in Retailing – Level 4
  plus The Foundation Degree in Retailing is a higher level qualification for managers who really want to get ahead in the industry. It is usually done part-time while at work and it can be completed in two years.

Retail qualifications

• Getting people into retail
  Part-time retail staff can take these qualifications while they are still at school or college – giving them a boost up the career ladder before they even start full-time paid work.
• Diploma in Retail Business – Levels 1 to 3
  The new Diploma in Retail Business is available as an option to 14-to-19-year olds in certain areas of England. It offers a mix of academic and work-based learning that covers everything from Maths, English and ICT to detailed knowledge of the retail sector. It can be used to go on to work, an Apprenticeship or to university.
• Diploma in Fashion Retail – Levels 2 and 3
  This one year full-time qualification is available at two levels in colleges. Level 2 prepares learners for a job in the fashion industry and Level 3 is a more advanced qualification that combines theory as well as practical skills.
• Diploma in Buying and Merchandising – Level 4
  This one year qualification can be taken after A-levels to help learners get a job in a buying office or a place on a fashion degree.
• Diploma in Visual Merchandising – Level 4
  Similar to a Diploma in Buying and Merchandising, this one year course shows learners how visual merchandising (VM) is a key element of sales and marketing and can help individuals get a job in a VM department or a place on a fashion degree.

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