Skills minister David Lammy has called for a greater number of c-store retailers to commit fully to formally training themselves and their staff by making use of the range of services and schemes available to them.
Speaking at a Skillsmart Retail's parliamentary reception at the House of Commons, the Labour MP for Tottenham said that while he was pleased to see that some of the country's largest retailers had signed up to the government's Skills Pledge, he hoped more smaller retailers across the retail sector would sign up to developing employees' basic skills in literacy and numeracy.
Lammy also highlighted the importance of retailers taking advantage of formal training schemes such as apprenticeships, and the danger of ignoring the importance of staff and personal training in a tough economic climate.
Speaking to Convenience Store, he explained: "We want to see more small businesses getting involved in training. It's available for owner/managers through schemes such as Train to Gain and there is match funding available for businesses.
"There's a lot of public funding there to give the workforce the training it needs for the future. We also want to make it easier for small- to medium size enterprises to take part in schemes such as apprenticeships. I would encourage all c-store retailers to explore all the options available to them as it's all there for them to make use of."