Abstract
In South Africa, a large retail store has engaged in a model, which considers the change from ‘retail employment’, an act, to entrepreneurial retail readiness, a provision of skills to note that the retail industry is entrepreneurial, and skills and retail readiness provide opportunities for potential staff to understand the skill requirements of the retail sector, but more importantly to understand and explore opportunities of entrepreneurship in the retail sector beyond the entry level position offered. This directly shares the understanding of retail leadership and values and requirements thereof through completion of a skills programme on starting your own business, the role of what a business must meet in terms of success planning and the key requirements needed to ensure sustainability of the business.
The model of employability of learners into the sector ensures the transition from large turnover of staff, which plagues the sector, through data available which considers ‘how many days do they stay employed’ contrasting direct employment versus the retail readiness programme. Furthermore, the economic generation of the unemployed that then becomes the potential new buyer through low income access is as a result of movement in and towards the workplace. For those, that wish to start and create their own success, the retail readiness of own company is understood as a basis of working for others to ensure the stakeholder participation is the benchmark for succession planning.
This paper evaluates the implementation of this project and considers the model that has been used and the success thereof.
Full academic paper available upon request.
Presented at:
Strategic Leadership Conference, Washington DC