Preston College

Learners Case Study

Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) Retail Programme

George Fisher (based in Keswick, Lake District) is one of the UK's leading retailer of outdoor equipment and clothing and a regular winner of the OIA 'Outdoor Retailer of the Year' award.

They take genuine pride in their reputation of offering the best level service in the business whether it be sales, advice or after-care. George Fisher (Keswick) believes training and development of staff is pivotal to the success of the business. They place great emphasis on staff training programmes from expeditions and nights out on the fells to factory visits and in-depth product knowledge organised by the suppliers.

Whilst the staff training programmes works well for George Fisher, they felt it was important that their employees were given the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification. Preston College Retail Skills Shop was seen as an ideal training provider to meet the needs of George Fisher and was approached by Skillsmart Retail Sector Skills Council to deliver the Retail Skills Level 2 Diploma.

Specific units undertaken included; provide information and advice to customers and help customers choose products in a retail environment.

Paul Whittam: “It helped me to focus on my aims in the workplace and made me a more efficient member of staff.”

Louise Reid: “It has helped me to think about how I serve people and the way I serve people. It has also helped my employer as I have developed better product knowledge.”

Shirley Greenwell: "I now have a qualification in Retail and the course made me think more about what I did during a sale – more aware of add on sales, closing a sale and also shop security”