College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2022 95 SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TALENT MANAGEMENT As part of the drive to professionalise the sector, the W&R sector requires more qualified individuals to enter the market and develop opportunities for those already in the industry. To address this, the Chair launched the following initiative: Accessible education Registered a blended and online *Higher Certificate in Retail Business Management: • Subjects include three modules that are creditbearing towards the Diploma (Retail Business Management). • There are two target markets for this certificate: – School leavers that don’t have a high enough APS score to enter a Diploma (creating more access to tertiary education) - offered full-time from 2024. – Current retail employees offer this as a free MOOC where the content is free, studying is 100% online and flexible, and students only pay a very affordable examination fee once they are ready to complete a module. This arrangement provides access for people currently working in retail who wish to develop their skills further and potentially articulate into the Diploma programme and apply for RPL to enter a higher level qualification potentially. • The certificate also includes Mathematics and English, as these modules will help students with low APS scores to improve their marks and their abilities in these two subjects. • The other modules include Retailing, Retail Operations, Technology in Retail and Personal Selling. *This is currently available as an NQF 5 Certificate, as we await the formal Higher Certificate registration approval that was submitted last year. INTERNATIONAL FOOTPRINT INDUSTRY The W&R sector is further in need of international learning and exposure. To address this need, the Chair launched and hosted the 2022 “Around the world RetailFit webinar”, where seven international retail experts presented the latest trends and retail happenings in their countries. STUDENTS The Chair has also secured an international exchange programme to Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm. This is a six-week programme where students will attend classes in Germany and engage in cultural activities (student gaming night, German classes, and company visits). They will be assigned a practical project where they must do a hands-on evaluation and assessment of German retailers. THE WAY AHEAD The Chair has another six research reports that will be produced and released by the end of 2023, and the Chair launched a first-of-its-kind youth employment project that will commence at the start of 2023.
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