Retail specialist training: Experience report from participant Marco Noto and participant Leira Ingold - Improve your chances on the retail job market and get a more responsible job
Marco Noto and Leira Ingold are completing the retail trade specialist course together at bsd. Bern and will complete it in two months. We met them for an interview and asked them many relevant questions about the course. The answers provide those interested in this retail trade training course with an in-depth insight into the time spent training to become a retail trade specialist.
Please introduce yourselves briefly, tell us about your career and current activities.
Leira: In 2016, I completed my EFZ in retail at bsd. Bern. I have always worked in sales. In 2018, I also completed the EFZ store manager course. My current job is as a store manager at Helen Kirchhofer in Brügg.
Marco: I am 29 years old and work in hardware retail at GlobTek. I completed my apprenticeship as an EFZ retail specialist from 2010 to 2013 at bsd. Bern from 2010 to 2013. Last year, I also completed the store manager EFZ. Now I'm completing the retail specialist course.
Why did you start the retail specialist course?
Leira: With the retail specialist course, I want to deepen my basic knowledge from my apprenticeship and develop personally. I've already managed to do this and I think I've taken a big step forward.
Marco: I was able to take on more tasks and responsibility professionally. That's why I decided to further develop my career. That's why I'm doing this further training as a retail specialist.
Why did you choose the school bsd. Bern?
Leira: I also chose the bsd. school for my current course because of my knowledge of the qualified teachers. Bern for my current course. The retail trade specialist course is also easy to combine with my current job and can be put into practice straight away.
Marco: After I had already completed my basic training at bsd. Bern, it was clear to me that I would also choose this school for my further training as a retail specialist. The school is centrally located and easy for me to get to, as I work in Bern.
How does the retail specialist course support you in your work and life?
Leira: The retail specialist course supports me well. I have learned a lot. It gives me a common thread in my work and shows me how to reach my goal. The retail specialist course is really great. I can only recommend it to others.
Marco: Of course, this kind of further training as a retail specialist also shows you what is important in the background: key figures, structure for conducting the right conversations or correct procedures using tools or models that are taught to us in class.
Can you put what you have learned in theory into practice?
Marco: Some of the things you learn during the retail specialist course can be applied on a one-to-one basis. However, depending on the store, this also takes place in a slightly different form. The basic framework for later practice-oriented application is taught well.
Leira: The knowledge I gained from the subjects of personnel management and leadership on the retail specialist course makes it easier for me to conduct staff appraisals. I can put this directly from theory into practice. I can also apply conflict management to leadership.
Can you increase your market value through the course?
Leira: I clearly have more opportunities on the job market thanks to my further training as a retail specialist. When I apply, I have so many acceptances that I can choose. That's a great feeling, of course.
Marco: My market value has also increased thanks to the retail specialist course. After seven years in the retail trade, I have now been given the opportunity to develop in the direction of product management and marketing. The retail specialist course has paved the way for this. Basically, further training also puts you in a better position in sales. I know many people who have been able to take on a deputy or department manager role as a result.
What learning content do you particularly like so far?
Leira: My favorite part of the retail specialist course so far has been personnel management. Because if you manage, you also have to know how it works. It's not enough to just stand there and give instructions. Good leadership has a lot to do with structure and an open feedback culture.
Marco: I can use what I've learned particularly well when it comes to expanding the product range. Employees need prior product training for new products. I can now provide this training more professionally since completing the retail specialist course. That has really helped me the most.
Is there a specific project or success that you have been able to achieve thanks to what you have learned?
Leira: Yes, for me it was taking on more responsibility and my personal development. I wouldn't have been able to do so much without the retail specialist training. I now see things differently. I'm now much better at merchandise management in particular.
Marco: In my case, it was the database revision project that I was able to take on. This ran over a longer period of time and had to be coordinated with the day-to-day business as an additional secondary task. I was able to learn from the project management knowledge I gained on the retail specialist course so that I could tackle this new task in the longer term and coordinate it with other activities.
How much time do you spend on preparation and follow-up work in addition to lessons?
Leira: I try to learn something every day for my further training as a retail specialist and invest one to two hours a day. As I still have two children, I prefer to stay on the ball regularly. Unfortunately, it's not possible for me to spend a lot of time at once.
Marco: Thanks to my store manager training, I had already completed half of my further training as a retail specialist, which certainly gives me more free time at the moment. Nevertheless, I still spend two to three hours per week and subject on studying.
Leira: Yes, and we both work 100% alongside the retail specialist course.
Marco: That's right. But depending on the learning content, the effort is greater one time and less the next.
What is your favorite part of the retail specialist course?
Leira: What I like best on the retail specialist course is when we do group work. Because the exchange with others is very valuable for me. It allows you to hear different opinions on a certain topic.
Marco: We have people from almost every sector in our retail specialist training course. Whether from the food, jewelry or hardware sector, etc. As a result, you naturally get different perspectives from the individual sectors. There is an interesting exchange among the students.
Leira: The different age groups in the retail specialist training course naturally also bring additional input or a different wealth of experience to discussions and talks.
When do you like it the least in class?
Marco: My least favorite part of the retail specialist course was during the coronavirus period when lessons were held from home. Of course, this complicated a lot of things for us. Clarifying questions naturally took much longer than usual. It was very inconvenient for me. Of course, it's not anyone's fault.
To whom would you recommend further training as a retail specialist?
Leira: I would recommend the retail trade specialist course to people who want to get ahead in life. In other words, determined, open-minded people with a basic knowledge of the retail trade.
Marco: I recommend further training as a retail specialist to anyone who likes the retail trade. Those who want to progress in their career and already have a little more expertise from the company than other employees. This is because it allows you to take a closer look at the job from the inside, get to know sub-steps and deal with key figures. In this way, you get to know what goes on in the background, which you usually don't get to know that much about otherwise.
Did you have a special "aha" experience during the course?
Marco: My "aha" moment during the retail specialist course was in personnel management. Before that, the staff appraisals seemed a bit random and not very meaningful. However, during the lessons I realized that everything actually has a common thread and that there is always a structure behind it. During the retail specialist training course, we learned that interviews should always be recorded in writing, goals should be set and the whole thing should be approached in a really structured way.
Leira: That's what happened to me in the area of companies and the environment as part of the retail specialist training course. I didn't quite get the hang of it at first. But in the end I realized how everything fits together to form a puzzle and that it only takes a little patience to understand the whole thing. Only then do you see and understand the whole picture.
What was the atmosphere like during the course?
Marco: The atmosphere has been really great so far. We have a great class. At the beginning of the retail specialist apprenticeship, of course you have to get to know each other first and everyone is still a bit reserved. You don't know each other well enough yet. But over time - after a month or two - you become a well-rehearsed team. It's interesting to work with people of different ages, jobs and genders. The good mix on the retail specialist course is really fun.
How do you find the lessons and the collaboration with the lecturers and fellow students?
Leira: The lecturers on the retail specialist course are very friendly, helpful and always have an open ear for us. It's a pleasure to go to school. If you don't understand something, both the lecturers and your fellow students help you. I find my fellow students very pleasant. Everyone wants to achieve something and this also pulls you along.
Marco: What I also find interesting about the speakers on the retail specialist training course is that they can usually talk about their professional lives and supplement the theory with practical examples. This gives you a lot of experience that others have already gained. These are good tips for us.
What do you like best about the school bsd. Bern the best?
Marco: My favorite part is the old bsd. Bern, which has such a special charm. As a participant in the retail trade specialist course, you're right in the middle of the city of Bern. This means you can get to the school quickly, have various catering options at lunchtime and it is also easy to reach from outside.
Leira: Yes, I think so too. Come to the bsd. Bern if you are looking for an opportunity and want to get ahead. A secondary school like the retail trade specialist opens the door to a good professional future.
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