£10m academy to train a new generation of retailers

Bhs and Arcadia
group owner Philip Green has announced details of a £10m
retail academy, which aims to develop the next generation of retail talent.

The London-based academy,
which will be jointly funded by Arcadia
and the Government, will offer places to 200 ‘motivated’ 16- to 18-year-olds
when it opens next year.

Green said that students at the
academy would get training in all aspect of the retail business, such as
marketing, design and finance.

Arcadia,
which includes high street chains such Topshop,
Miss Selfridge, Burtons
and Dorothy Perkins, has a track record of successfully supporting young
talent, with more than 60 per cent of its staff aged under 25. This month it recruited 55 graduates and 39
school leavers to its retail management trainee scheme.

Green’s plans were backed by
education eecretary Charles
Clarke, who said the specialist schools initiative and the plans for a national
retail academy were ‘historic’.

By Mike Berry

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