Home > News > October 2010 > 14 October 2010

Retail training scholarships announced

Scholarships worth £2000 each for a development programme aimed at senior owners and managers in retail are being offered by Retail Trust and Skillsmart Retail.

Eight retail managers from small and medium-sized businesses will get the chance to attend the Oxford Retail Masters Forum, held at Oxford University from 28th - 31st March 2011.

Open to owners and managers of retail businesses which have fewer than 1,000 employees, the four-day residential course run by the BHF-BSSA, will see scholarship winners take part in a series of lectures and seminars. These will look at a range of topics affecting retail, from global sourcing and ethical trading to demography, business management and climate change.

The first headline speaker has just been confirmed as Anthony Preston, former owner of Pets at Home. Mr Preston started with just one store in 1991 but earlier this year sold his business for £955 million.

Nigel J L Rothband, chief executive of Retail Trust, said: "Retail Trust continues to recognise the need for educational opportunities for people working in retail and there is no finer opportunity for those at management level than the Oxford Retail Masters Forum.

"While the Forum is open to retailers of all sizes, these scholarships are restricted to those small businesses which could become the Pets at Home of tomorrow."

Located at the Institute of Retail Management, part of Oxford University's Saïd Business School, the Forum will offer scholarship winners four days of training, accommodation, and all meals and refreshments.

To be in with a chance of winning a scholarship, interested parties need to complete a short application form, after which, short listed candidates will be interviewed by telephone.

Neil Moss, Skillsmart Retail's new head of employer engagement, said: "I urge all retail business owners and managers to apply for these scholarships as the Oxford Retail Masters Forum represents the very best in high-level retail training in the UK.

"Previous winners have reported having their eyes opened to new ideas and business opportunities, and during these tough trading conditions, anything that gives retailers a competitive advantage can only be a good thing."

For more information and to download a scholarship application form, visit www.skillsmartretail.com/scholarships

External links

Oxford Retail Masters Forum

Skillsmart Retail

Retail Trust

BHF-BSSA (British Shops and Stores Association)

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