Minister Emer Higgins Champions Skills4Retail programme: empowering the Retail Sector with future-ready upskilling
20th September 2024, Dublin: Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Emer Higgins, has today joined JA Europe, Skillnet Ireland and JA Malta to champion the Skills4Retail programme, which aims to address the urgent and emerging skills needs of the retail sector in Ireland and across Europe.
The Skills4Retail initiative, funded by the European Commission, aims to drive the ‘Triple Transition’ — green, digital, and resilience — by providing tailored vocational education and training (VET) programmes for new and existing retail employees. By equipping the workforce with future-ready skills, the programme aims to foster sustainable growth and innovation across Europe’s retail industry.
Highlighting the importance of the Skills4Retail programme, Minister Higgins, said: “The future of Irish retail is digital, green, and resilient, and it’s crucial that we prepare our workforce to thrive in this rapidly changing landscape. The Skills4Retail programme will play a vital role by equipping businesses operating in the sector with the knowledge and skills needed to adapt to evolving market trends, shifting consumer demands, sustainable practices and technological innovations.”
Diana Filip, Deputy CEO and Chief Development Officer, at JA Europe, said: “I am honored to be in Ireland for this significant meeting. The idea to put together the Skills4Retail consortium originated here, and it is inspiring to see the tremendous momentum this initiative has gained. Having Minister Emer Higgins championing this cause here in Ireland underscores the impactful progress we have made in upskilling the retail sector and preparing it for the future.”
Mark Jordan, Chief Strategy Officer, Skillnet Ireland, said: “As Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, employing over 300,000 people across every town and village in the country, retail is the cornerstone of the economy. The Skills4Retail programme is committed to ensuring retailers are resilient and equipped with the skills and capabilities needed to embrace the digital and green transitions and remain competitive.”
Skillnet Ireland has led on the design and development of the Skills4Retail curriculum in partnership with Retail Ireland. The four-year project focuses on developing new talent for the sector through work-based learning, short-term modular courses, and training programmes in Higher Education Institutions. The programme enables retailers to upskill and reskill, in areas such as digital marketing, customer experience management, supply chain optimisation, and sustainable retail practices.
Skills4Retail is led by a Consortium of 30 partners from nine EU countries and coordinated by JA Europe, uniting Europe’s top educational institutions, industry leaders, and service providers. Together, they are developing a new Retail Skills Strategy to address the sector’s pressing needs. The programme offers a variety of flexible learning options, including short-term modular courses and work-based learning, available in Ireland, Austria, Romania, and Hungary.
Minister Higgins met key consortium stakeholders from higher education, industry and training at Leinster House on Thursday 19th September, to discuss how the Skills4Retail programme aims to address critical skills gaps in the retail and wholesale sectors all over Europe. The Skills4Retail Consortium is welcoming Irish retailers and businesses to support the Skills4Retail project and its mission to upskill the retail workforce. Companies are encouraged to take advantage of the programme’s training opportunities to ensure their teams are equipped for the future of retail.
For more information and to sign up, please visit www.skills4retail.eu.
