Estimates are due by 25th September 2009

Assessment Booklets are due by 30th October 2009

Estimates and Assessment Booklets can be sent directly to IBEC Retail Skillnet Head Office, or they can be given to the Regional Consultant responsible for your area. 

For further information on how to contact Head Office, click here

Eddie and Annette Tobin own and manage Tobin’s Service Station and Gala store, located on the Port Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. the business was started on the Port Road by Eddie’s father, Patrick, in 1980. Eddie and Annette built a new convenience store on the original site, offering their customers a fresh and modern shopping experience. 

Tobin’s Service Station and Gala store has received numerous awards including Forecourt Retailer of the Year (C-Store Awards, Shelf Life, 2008) Best Forecourt Facilities (Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer, 2008), and the store has also been the recipient of Gala Store of the Year Awards twice in recent times.

Eddie and Annette Tobin recognise the benefits of training their staff in order to meet and exceed their customer’s expectations. Tobin’s staff have been training on the IBEC Retail Skillnet programme and they currently have 14 staff availing of the work based qualifications.

Annette reports that there are many benefits of using the IBEC Retail skillnet programme. She states “Previously we had looked at other training programmes aimed at the retail sector, however these were usually delivered in different areas throughout the country and required staff to be released from the store for a number of days in order to complete the training. It was not feasible for us to release all the staff, who wished to be trained, from the store at the same time. The accredited training programme offered by IBEC Retail skillnet allows the training to take place in-store providing the best of both worlds”.

She continues, “The training provides reinforcement of best practice and allows staff to reacquaint themselves with company policies regarding all aspects of the business, e.g.: Health and Safety policies, Customer complaints policies and so on”.

She also added: “We have found that the training introduces new and beneficial ideas for the business which arise through discussion around the topics and through the assessment methods used in the qualifications”.

Annette also points out that the programme provides benefits for the staff, ” Some of our staff may have been out of education for a long time. The training introduces them back into the world of education and offers them a chance to gain qualifications which allow them to access higher education courses. They also are more involved in the day-to-day operation of the business.”

When asked about the importance of investing in training Annette responded, “In the present economic climate it is essential to have well trained and effective staff. Customer Service is now more important than ever as businesses compete in very difficult trading conditions”.

 
Cordners Shoes, who have been trading in Sligo for 30 years, recently celebrated their first FETAC awards for Retail Customer Service.

5 members of staff, Edyta Fliegeir, Michelle Hynes, Patricia Dunleavey, Carmel Belland and Damien Conway, received their FETAC Level 5 Retail Customer Service certificates from Maureen Lavin (IBEC Retail Skillnet Regional Consultant).

Maureen congratulated the staff on their achievement and also commended the assessors, Jill and David Bagnall, who delivered the training programme in-store.

Yvonne Quinn, Training and Development Officer, Lifestyle Sports, congratulated all candidates on their latest achievement saying that “The Selling Skills module has increased the level of service within our Lifestyle branches”.

Pictured: Staff from Lifestyle Sports, Dundrum store

Some of the Lifestyle Sports staff at the Dundrum branch commented on their experiences of being involved in the IBEC Retail Skillnet training programme.

Deborah Callaghan stated “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I think it really helped improve my customer service and dealing with customers in a professional manner”.

Her colleague, John Lenehen, added “Through this experience I have developed some important knowledge that has helped me with servicing and satisfying customer needs”.

William Healey concluded by saying that this was a “great learning experience, it has helped me cement my future in retail. Very worthwhile”.

10 staff from the Brown Thomas store in Cork participated in an RPL pilot programme in late 2008. They successfully achieved their Level 5 Retail Customer Service Awards in February 2009.

At a special awards ceremony, in the Cork store, they were presented with their awards by Marie Gould, Development Officer, FETAC. Management and staff from Brown Thomas congratulated their colleagues on a great achievement.

Commenting on the experience, staff said that they had thoroughly enjoyed the process and offered their encouragement to all their colleagues wishing to participate in the RPL process in the near future. They concluded by expressing their wish that the company would implement the RPL programme in all Brown Thomas stores across the country.

Pictured: Staff from Brown Thomas, Cork, with Marie Gould, FETAC and Caroline Heagney, IBEC Retail Skillnet

Together we have developed specific training modules, that have been tailored to meet the changing needs in the pharmacy sector.

United Drug representatives, Ann Walsh (Retail Services), Adrienne Morley, Nichola Hosie (Business Development) and Siobhan Heaslip (Profitlines) accompanied United Drug Managing Director Rosemary McGrath, to the first Retail Assessor training session at the CityWest hotel in Dublin on 26th and 27th February.

Pharmacies from Newbridge, Carrick-on-Shannon, Baltinglass, Dunshaughlin, Wicklow, Ferbane, Ballymun and Pearse Street, Dublin were represented at the inaugural training session.

Pictured with Caroline Heagney (IBEC Retail Skillnet Regional Consultant) are United Drug trainees 

United Drug have extended an open invitation to any of the pharmacies in their Network wishing to participate in this new initiative. For those looking for further information or to register for the Retail training programme please contact Ann Walsh on 01 4632545 or contact Caroline Heagney directly on 086 207 8395. 

Assessment is now well underway, with candidates working towards achieving their Occupational Qualifications. Just a reminder of the deadlines for returning Assessment Books to IBEC Retail Skillnet:

Estimates are due by 20th February 2009

Assessment Books due by 1st May 2009

Estimates and Assessment Booklets can be sent directly to Head Office, or they can be given to the Regional Consultant responsible for your area.

For further information on your local Regional Consultant, Click here

Recently a number of their staff received their Level 5 Retail Operations Certificate. A Retail Operations Certificate is awarded, by FETAC, to candidates who have successfully completed a range of 8 prescribed retail based modules.

An Awards ceremony was held by Donnybrook Fair to present the Certificates to the staff to recognise their achievements.

Certificates were presented to the staff in the store by An Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan, T.D. The minister congratulated the staff on their achievements and spent time talking to them and listening to their experiences of working on the modules over the past 3 years.

Pictured are (l-r): Alan Nuzam (CEO Skillnets Ltd.), Zita Csibi (candidate), An Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan, T.D., and Joe Doyle (Owner)

Sean Carlin, IBEC Retail Skillnet National Co-ordinator, praised the efforts of the assessor responsible for the delivery of the programme in Donnybrook Fair, Ms. Patrice Ryan. Sean also paid tribute to Joe Doyle, the owner, for his forward thinking and proactive approach to training in the retail sector saying “Joe’s commitment to the development of his staff and provision of exceptional levels of service to his customers is an example for all retailers to follow”.

Caroline Heagney, IBEC Retail Skillnet Regional Consultant, complimented all the recipients of awards on their tremendous achievement, particularly as the group were all originally from various countries with different languages and cultures.

Pictured are (back row l-r): Jolita Dabradziejunaite, Michael Iaris, Zita Csibi (candidates) and (front row l-r): Joe Doyle (owner), An Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan, T.D.

In completing the required 8 FETAC Level 5 retail modules to achieve the Retail Operations Certificate the candidates have acquired a work based qualification which is equivalent to a Leaving Cert. within the National Framework of Qualifications.

This will allow the candidates to access some further academic courses at Institutions of Higher Education.

10 experienced staff in the Cork store were chosen to participate in this new and innovative scheme. They completed a programme of work, including development of a portfolio which highlighted their knowledge, skills and experience gained in the sector over the years, focusing on the area of Retail Customer Service.

All 10 candidates were successful in achieving their FETAC Level 5 Retail Customer Service Award through RPL. The programme was assessed by an IBEC Retail Skillnet Regional Assessor and was supported instore by Barry O’Sullivan and the H.R. team.

Barry O’Sullivan, Brown Thomas, said “What this programme has done for us is rekindle the passion that we have for offering 5*service and establishing our customer’s needs, it is driven by the desire to create an environment where the customer feels special”.

He added “The staff loved the whole programme, it added extra excitement to the floor and it made people realise, and be proud of, what they do well. There is roughly 250 years of retail experience on the floor and what this RPL programme has done for us is made us aware we know the business”.

IBEC Retail Skillnet are one of only 6 training providers in Ireland to be approved by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) to offer specific awards through the process of RPL.

RPL is a process through which the knowledge, skills and competencies which an individual already has are formally recognised.

IBEC Retail Skillnet currently offer 4 FETAC Level 5 Awards through RPL. These are

• Retail Customer Service
• Retail Selling
• Communications
• Work Experience