NSW Skills List under review

The NSW Department of Industry is currently reviewing the NSW Skills List.    The Skills List identifies the qualifications eligible for a government subsidy under Smart and Skilled and includes a wide range of qualifications to support the diverse skills needs of NSW employers. The Skills List covers: Certificate ll to Advanced Diploma qualifications Selected Foundation […]

What makes a great team?

Like many animals, people are wired to work in teams. Regardless of personality type or personal preference, our brains thrive when given the opportunity to connect and collaborate with other people. The key to generating successful outcomes is knowing how to help teams reach their full potential.  The NRA Training team has developed Team Building […]

Message from the CEO: 11 April 2017

Dominique Lamb CEO National Retail Association

What a heartbreaking fortnight it has been for so many of you on the east coast of Australia. We have seen family homes, local schools, roads and local businesses decimated in many communities throughout Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. We want to iterate that we are here to assist those of you who’ve been […]

NRA and Salvos ‘lead’ new training

nra and salvos stores

The National Retail Association and Salvos Stores have partnered together to offer an exciting new training program designed to empower Salvos Stores people leaders and create customer value. Salvos Stores CEO Matt Davis said that ‘LEAD‘ is a three phase program designed to develop and support people working in Salvos Stores and ensure the ongoing […]

More than 1500 Queenslanders assisted Back to Work

The Queensland Government’s assistance program for regional Queensland employers to take on new staff has put more than 1500 staff ‘Back to Work’. The $100 million Back to Work program has already assisted 1557 Queenslanders into jobs in the state’s regions, with another 300 applications pending assessment. Significantly, 541 of those assisted through Back to […]

Fast food safety – now even faster!

We are pleased to announce that our new online Food Safety training program is now available. This program is an upgrade of our former program, and has a fresh, new look and feel about it… No classroom attendance is required and you simply complete the course online in the comfort of your home or workplace.  Once […]

Have your say: Jobs Queensland forums

discussion group

Have your say on how the Queensland government changes systems that affect your business at the upcoming Jobs Queensland forums.  Apprenticeship & Traineeship Forums In November 2016, the Positive Futures – Apprenticeships and Traineeships in Queensland Discussion Paper was launched, to discuss the current apprenticeship and traineeship system. Jobs Queensland is hosting forums to identify what […]

New funding for hiring young people

job-active-path

jobactive PaTH starts April 1st Retail is an important industry for young people seeking an entry-level job. Retail is the industry most likely to employ a young person and teach them transferable employability skills.  jobactive PaTH is a new national program being introduced by the Australian Government which is designed to prepare young people and […]

Essential Professional Development Workshops

essential professional development workshops

NRA’s National Retail Training + Development Centre offers a range of high quality, customised programs for retailers, designed to increase productivity, revenue, staff retention, customer service and leadership. All of our programs are specifically designed to suit retailers’ needs, but also draw on over 80 years’ combined experience across multiple fields of our in-house training team. We […]

Government encourages young entrepreneurs

retail flowers

The Department of Employment’s ‘Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Initiative‘ is designed to support Australians, particularly young people, who want to start their own business. Four key measures make up the Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Initiative, which is part of the broader Youth Employment Package announced in the 2016-2017 Budget. The four key measures include: Entrepreneurship […]

Designing tomorrow’s training

retail training

SkillsIQ For retailers to thrive in today’s climate a skilled workforce is imperative. Australian retailers have long been challenged by the availability of local talent to fill buying, planning and online retail roles. This shortage of skills is compounded by the lack of formal training options that support employers in growing their internal teams. It […]

Nominate now for QLD Training Awards

Queensland Training Awards 2017

Nominations for the 2017 Queensland Training Awards are now open. The Queensland Training Awards are a great opportunity for Queensland-based retailers to showcase our industry’s learning and development programs and commitment to developing the skills of our staff. Also, nominating staff is an excellent way to reward any workers who have achieved success through participating […]

Tips for new managers

by the NRA Training Team A leader is someone that brings people together and guides them toward a common goal. Anyone can boss people around and tell them what to do, but an effective leader requires you to be able to do more than assign tasks to staff members. Leading a team can be a […]

Tips for optimising online sales

Optimising online sales: How to convert lookers to purchasers There are many good reasons for selling your products or services online. Most importantly, selling online increases your market reach, exposes your product to new customer groups, and creates opportunities to increase your overall sales revenue.  However, just because you offer an online shopping cart doesn’t […]

How’s your security?

If your retail business has little to no security policy in place, you run the risk of security breaches which can cost time, money, consumer trust and can result in legal actions. What are the 4 main motivations for retailers to adopt security practices?  Protection of operational systems (eg. system shutdown)A virus is capable of disrupting […]

Have your say on tourism workforce plans

Queensland Tourism Workforce Plan

Jobs Queensland is developing a Queensland Tourism Workforce Plan aimed at ensuring Queensland has a skilled workforce ready to support a growing and thriving tourism industry. To do this, Jobs Queensland are working with the Department of Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games, and also inviting employers and employees to have their say […]

Employer incentives of $20,000 available now in regional QLD

Youth Boost incentives

Don’t miss out! Remember that Queensland employers have an additional incentive to hire local young people this festive season. As announced in early November, the Queensland Government is offering a offering a $20,000 kick-back for regional businesses who hire unemployed youths as part of their Back to Work ‘Youth Boost’ Program. The offer applies to […]

Get qualified based on your experience

The opportunity Retail is an industry where a lot of talented people possess a wealth of experience and knowledge, but have no formal qualification. In fact, less than one third of the retail workforce holds a Certificate III or higher – the lowest average level of qualifications of any industry in Australia. The Queensland Government […]

Queensland advances with innovation hub

Advance Queensland is an initiative by the Queensland Government to provide a comprehensive suite of programs, based on international evidence of ‘what works’, designed to create the knowledge-based jobs of the future. The programs aim to drive innovation and position Queensland as a place where entrepreneurs, industry, universities and government collaborate to turn great ideas […]

NRA training ‘accelerates’ motor museum team

Recently, the National Retail Association Training team had the pleasure of running one-day non-accredited training workshops for over 15 staff at the National Motor Museum, based in Birdwood, South Australia. Here’s the lovely feedback they shared with us… “The National Retail Association was a very professional organisation to deal with from the outset. Being in South […]