Retail

What does it comprise of?

The vocational qualifications are designed for work-based learning and provide flexible training through the study of one mandatory and five optional units for Levels 2 and 3. There are three pathways learners can choose from for the Level 3 Apprenticeship. These are: Visual Merchandising Management Sales Professional The Level 2 and 3 Apprenticeships incorporate Key Skills, Technical Certificates and learning about employment rights and responsibilities.

The unit headings are:

Mandatory Unit

Work effectively in your retail team

Optional Units

5 optional units - Level 2 (at least 4 from the following and one from Level 1 or 3 if preferred)

- Help customers choose products in a retail environment
- Maximise product sales in a retail environment
- Provide information and advice to customers in a retail environment
- Demonstrate products to customers in a retail environment
- Promote loyalty schemes to customers in a retail environment
- Receive goods and materials into storage in a retail environment
- Put goods and materials into storage in a retail environment
- Process customer orders for goods in a retail environment
- Process bake-off products for sale in a retail environment
- Process fish and shellfish for sale in a retail environment
- Process greengrocery products for sale in a retail environment
- Finish meat products by hand in a retail environment
- Contribute to dough production control and efficiency
- Select, weigh and measure dough ingredients
- Hand divide, mould and shape fermented doughs
- Maintain food safety while working with food in a retail environment
- Establish customer needs and provide advice regarding tiling products
- Advise customers upon measuring and planning for the fixing of tiles
- Advise customers upon the fixing of tiles
- Receive driver-controlled deliveries of fuel on petrol forecourt
- Control deliveries of fuel on the forecourt
- Process the self-service dispensing and purchasing of motor fuel on a forecourt
- Provide the lingerie fitting service in a retail environment
- Prepare products for sale to customers in a retail environment
- Assemble retail products in customer's home/workplace
- Promote beauty products to retail customers
- Help customers to buy National Lottery products in a retail environment
- Maintain a display of cut flowers in a retail store
- Keep stock on sale at required levels in a retail environment
- Display stock to promote sales to customers in a retail environment
- Follow guidelines for planning and preparing visual merchandising displays
- Follow guidelines for dressing visual merchandising displays
- Order graphic materials for visual merchandising displays
- Dismantle and store visual merchandising displays
- Make props for visual merchandising displays
- Put visual merchandising displays together
- Develop productive working relationships with colleagues
- Allocate and check work in you team
- Process payments for purchases in a retail environment
- Process payments and credit applications for purchases in a retail environment
- Process cash and credit transactions in a retail environment
- Follow point of sale procedures for age restricted products in a retail environment
- Process returned goods and materials in a retail environmemt
- Give customers a positive impression of yourself and your organisation
- Support customer service improvements
- Resolve customer service problems
- Help to maintain health and safety in a retail environment
- Help to keep the retail unit secure

Mandatory unit - Level 3 (all pathways)

- Work effectively in your retail organisation

5 optional units - Level 3 (Sales Professional pathway)

- Process part exchange sales transactions in a retail environment
- Provide a specialist support in helping customers to make purchases in a retail environment
- Develop individual retail service opportunities
- Provide a personalised sales and after-sales service to your retail clients
- Organise the receipt and storage of goods in a retail environment
- Audit stock levels and stock inventories in a retail environment
- Monitor and help improve food safety in a retail environment
- Assist customers to obtain appropriate insurance
- Source required goods and services in a retail environment
- Maintain the availability of goods for sale to customers in a retail environment
- Help to manage a retail team
- Plan, monitor and adjust staffing levels and schedules in a retail environment
- Enable customers to apply for credit and hire purchase facilities
- Monitor and evaluate the quality of service provided by external suppliers to your customers
- Organise the delivery of reliable customer service
- Improve the customer relationship
- Work with others to improve customer
- Monitor and solve customer service problems
- Promote continuous improvement in customer service
- Help to monitor and maintain the security of the retail unit
- A learner can choose one of the following optional units from the Level 2 qualification
- Process bake-off products for sale in a retail environment
- Process fish and shellfish for sale in a retail environment
- Process greengrocery products for sale in a retail environment
- Finish meat products by hand in a retail environment
- Contribute to dough production control and efficiency
- Select, weigh and measure dough ingredients
- Hand divide, mould and shape fermented doughs
- Provide the lingerie fitting service in a retail environment
- -Establish customer needs and provide advice regarding tiling products
- Advise customers upon measuring and planning for the fixing of tiles
- Advise customers upon the fixing of tiles
- Promote beauty products to retail customers

5 optional units - Level 3 (Visual Merchandising pathway)

- Organise the receipt and storage of goods in a retail environment
- Choose merchandise to feature in visual merchandising displays
- Plan, monitor and control how graphics are used in visual merchandising displays
- Monitor the effects of visual merchandising displays and layouts
- Allocate, monitor and control visual merchandising project resources against budgets
- Contribute to developing and putting into practice the company's visual merchandising policy
- Create plans, elevations and drawings to realise virtual merchandising ideas
- Help to manage a retail team
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of retail operations
- A learner can choose one of the following optional units from Level 2
- Follow guidelines for planning and preparing visual merchandising displays
- Follow guidelines for dressing visual merchandising displays
- Order graphic materials for visual merchandising displays
- Dismantle and store visual merchandising displays
- Make props for visual merchandising displays
- Put visual merchandising displays together

5 optional units - Level 3 (Management pathway)

- Recruit, select and keep colleagues
- Provide learning opportunities for colleagues
- Develop productive working relationships with colleagues
- Allocate and check work in your team
- Contribute towards the continuous improvement of retail operations
- Organise the receipt and storage of goods in a retail environment
- Adjust stock levels and stock inventories in a retail environment
- Monitor and help improve food safety in a retail environment
- Source required goods and services in a retail environment
- Maintain the availability of goods and services in a retail environment
- Plan, monitor and adjust staffing levels and schedules in a retail environment
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of retail operations
- Recruit, select and keep colleagues
- Allocate and check work in your team
- Provide learning opportunities for colleagues
- Develop productive working relationships with colleagues
- Evaluate the receipt of payments from customers
- Monitor and evaluate the quality of service provided by external suppliers to your customers
- Organise the delivery of reliable customer service
- Improve the customer relationship
- Work with others to improve customer service
- Monitor and solve customer service problems
- Promote continuous improvement in customer service
- Help to monitor and maintain the security of the retail unit
- Monitor and maintain health and safety in the retail environment
- Technical Certificates
- The qualifications include a Technical Certificate - Certificate in Retail Operations.

Assessment

Each of the units is made up from specific elements applicable to a retail role, for example managing and maintaining stock, dealing with cash or credit transactions and improving customer service. Assessment takes place through evaluation of workplace performance, presenting evidence, witness testimony and questioning. A portfolio of evidence is produced which demonstrates that the candidate can perform to the level described. Participants will all have a Training Assessor who will help assemble the portfolio and prepare for assessment.

Progression

Candidates often progress from Level 2 to Level 3 or to management qualifications.