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Retail Jobs and Careers

It may surprise you, but roughly 10% of all people working in the UK today are employed in the retail sector. This translates to approximately three million people, working in a huge variety of positions. While a large percentage of these are customer service assistants working in stores, or individual shop owners and their staff, a considerable number of positions are at regional and national level in bigger companies. This reflects the fact that the retail sector is not only huge, but it is a diverse and exciting industry to establish your career in.

Retail Jobs Sites.

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The Retail Industry

If you're looking for a career with longevity, this industry certainly offers enough scope. Its sheer size means that many people can start in entry level roles and work up to retail management and then higher management positions.

Specialist areas include merchandising, buying, marketing and logistics, as well as all the financial, human resources and service roles associated with large corporations. Even with specialist skills, there are always going to be enough employers in the industry for you to make a sideways move.

Due to the ease with which employees can move to other companies, many employers offer excellent benefits packages, including competitive salaries, bonuses and commissions, generous vacation time, car allowances, pensions and life assurance, healthcare, staff restaurants and share options.

Next, we take a brief look at some of the most popular careers in the retail industry. There are many variations on these, as well as levels of seniority ranging from entry level to national director.

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Specialist Career Areas

Buyer

Retail or Store Manager

Operations or Logistics Manager

Merchandiser

Graduate Schemes

Graduate training schemes abound with the larger companies in the retail industry. Schemes may shape graduates for management work in areas such as IT, finance, HR and operations, as well as some of the more sought after positions, such as those listed in this article. The diversity of careers on offer is reflected in the breadth of the training programmes' content.

A degree of class 2.2 or above will support entry to a graduate training programme. While retail degrees are tailored for the industry, major employers are more concerned with commercial awareness, motivation and leadership potential. Numeracy, problem-solving skills and a passion for retail are invaluable, and are best demonstrated through hands-on work experience and evidence of working with and understanding customers.

Retail Jobs Sites

Jobs' boards with retail vacancies include:

Retail recruitment agency:

More Information

Advice on retail careers:


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