• Adult Education and Training
• Community and Voluntary Advice
• Financial Capability
• Schools and Colleges
• Youth Sector
• Consumer Career Profiles
  • Karen Williams, Senior Environmental Health Officer, Belfast City Council
  • Esther Chartres, Executive Officer, Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland
  • Dr Sinéad Furey, Nutritional Associate, Education and Training Inspectorate
  • Tina Leonard, Director, European Consumer Centre
  • Martin Coppack, Independent Watchdog The Financial Services Authority
  • Scott Kennerley, Citizens Advice Bureau
  • Paul Burton, Office of Fair Trading
  • Marc Harding, Home Economics teacher, Glenola School, Bangor
  • Linda McAuley, Presentator, On Your Behalf, BBC Radio Ulster
  • Hazel Scott, Manager, Consumer Advice Centre, Beflast City Council
  • Jimmy Hughes, Trading Standards Service
  • Carol Edwards, Head of Education at the Consumer Council
  • Tory Kerley, National Manager, Northern Ireland for Skillsmart Retail
• Register for Info
• Newsroom
• Publications
• Events
• Education Home
• Home

Tory Kerley, National Manager, Northern Ireland for Skillsmart Retail

What are the central elements of your role?

Skillsmart Retail is the Sector Skills Council for Retail. Each Sector Skills Council has a remit to identify and develop the skills needed for the particular industry area it works with, in this case retail. We conduct research aimed at predicting challenges facing retailers and use this to influence government and employers on the importance of addressing skills needs and putting relevant qualifications in place where necessary. We are also heavily involved in promoting retail as a career of choice.

We are not a training organisation though. My role as National Manager for Northern Ireland is to work strategically with retailers of all sizes and stakeholders like the Department for Employment & Learning, colleges, training providers and the Northern Ireland Assembly - to represent the views of retail employers and the needs of the 90,000 people here who work in retail.

What experience is needed to be successful in your role?

As we cover such a wide range of activity the team at Skillsmart Retail come from a variety of specialist backgrounds including education, training and the retail industry itself. For my role it is necessary to have a broad understanding of all the issues relating to boosting retail skills in Northern Ireland. Most of my career has been spent in the retail industry itself. I started off as a part time sales assistant in the Body Shop when I was a student.  I realised I loved the buzz of retail and after my degree, became a Graduate Trainee at Laura Ashley in Bristol. Since then I have worked in various management positions in multi-national and independent stores in England and Northern Ireland. I became increasingly involved in training and development and was delighted when I was recruited for this role in 2004.

What qualities are needed in your role?

Most of all I think you need to be passionate about retail skills and the impact that raising skills levels can have for an individual and to the economy as a whole. It is essential to be self-motivated, organised and able to work on your own initiative. You also need to be a team player in this job as it would be impossible to make a real impact without collaborative working. You need to have the confidence to communicate well with many different people– retailers, academics, senior civil servants, entrepreneurs and students interested in retail careers. It is important to enjoy talking to people and to be able to listen effectively.

 Do you have a typical working day?

Absolutely not! One day I will be in front of the computer reading information about the new Qualifications Credit Framework or responding to a government consultation. The next I might be facilitating a meeting of Human Resource Managers from the retail sector or a group of market traders. The next I might be in London meeting with Skillsmart colleagues. The major attraction of this job is that it is so varied.

How important is the retail sector in Northern Ireland?

Just imagine our cities, towns and villages without shops of any kind. Retail is absolutely crucial to the economy of Northern Ireland. It is the largest sector of employment at around 12 per cent of our entire workforce and about 14 per cent of all VAT registered companies providing enormous tax revenue to the exchequer. Retail is the route to market for all produce, so it supports local industry and agriculture, is intrinsically linked to tourism and with recent new developments, has sustained much of the construction sector. We have a vibrant local independent sector, a growing export market from online retailing, as well as an increasing number of multi-nationals.

How do you boost retail skills now to cope with future challenges facing the sector?

We need to work collaboratively with government, retailers and partners like colleges to ensure that whatever programmes are available are of an excellent quality, relevant to the needs of the workforce, easily accessible and affordable for employers and individuals. We propose a UK wide network of Retail Skills Shops which act as a one stop shop so that smaller retailers can access programmes and for the unemployed and economically inactive to access pre-employment training.

How do you work in conjunction with the Consumer Council in achieving your goals?

All good retailers have a first class service as a primary objective, but delivering this is not easy. Confusion and lack of confidence, particularly in the area of complaints can lead to customer frustration and poor service. Therefore we are working in partnership with the Consumer Council, retailers, Consumerline and Trading Standards Service to run information and training seminars for industry representatives aimed at raising their knowledge and awareness of consumer protection legislation and best practice in customer care.

And how do you relax outside of work?

What other answer can I give? I go shopping, of course!

For more information about careers in retail or the work of Skillsmart Retail in Northern Ireland contact Tory through the Skillsmart Retail website www.skillsmartretail.com