Q. What is the Diploma in Retail Business?
A. It’s one of 17 new Diplomas for 14-19 year-olds in England, which are linked to different industry sectors and combine academic and practical workplace learning. By 2013 young people will have an entitlement to study them. The Diploma in Retail Business was developed by employers, schools, colleges, universities and education providers. 

Q. What is the content of the Diploma in Retail Business?
A. The Diploma covers a broad range of topics, including:

Business Management - looks at marketing, strategies for change, HR and team dynamics
Retail Operations - looks at sourcing products, merchandising, stock control, selling and customer service
Supply Chain - looks at the journey of a product from source through transportation and storage to disposal, including recycling
Creative and Design - looks at store layout and visual merchandising

Retail is not a job in a shop and the Diploma in Retail Business will equip young people for either further education or a wide range of careers.

Q. When/where will the Diploma in Retail Business be taught?
A. It will start being taught in September 2010 by 45 consortia located in pilot areas throughout England. Each consortium has members including schools, colleges, universities, employers, local authorities, education and business partnerships (EBPs). Another set of consortia are currently involved in an application process and hope to start teaching from September 2011.

Q. Why is there a need for the Diploma in Retail Business?
A. Retail is the UK’s single biggest private sector employer - it currently provides around three million jobs and there are around 2 million employees working in logistics roles in England alone.

Yet at present there is no qualification for retail or logistics as part of the mainstream offer to 14 – 19 year olds. The Diploma in Retail Business is meeting a real need and will mean retail and its supply chain being taught for the first time as an academic discipline in schools opening up a whole range of careers available of exciting, rewarding careers in retail from buying, selling and logistics to finance, fashion and management. Employers see the Diploma as being crucial to their drive to attract higher calibre recruits.

Q. Does doing a Diploma mean choosing a career too early?
A. Students will learn about a broad range of careers in their chosen subject, but many of the skills and qualities they will develop by doing the Diploma are general and valued by all employers and universities, so they are not restricting their options. Also students will be able to switch between the different types of qualification: some may choose to take a Higher Diploma from14-16, and then do A levels or an Apprenticeship; or they might do GCSEs, and then start an Advanced Diploma at 16.

Q: How much of the curriculum will the Diploma take up?
A: At foundation and higher level the Diploma will take about 50% of the curriculum – the rest of the time is spent on the core curriculum which includes English and Maths GCSEs and other specialist learning such as fashion, manufacturing, accounting, logistics – whatever students are interested in.

Q. What are Functional skills, and how do they fit with Diplomas?
A. Functional skills are the practical English, maths and IT skills that everybody needs to deal with everyday life, for example, writing a letter of application, or working out the value of a car. The Diploma will contain all three functional skills qualifications to ensure young people are equipped for progression into employment, college and university. Passes in functional skills will be required at level 1 for a Level 1 Diploma and at level 2 for a Level 2 or a Level 3 Diploma.

Q. Do universities and colleges recognise Diplomas ?
A. Yes. Universities and colleges have been involved in creating Diplomas, and will recognise them alongside A level and GCSE results when they are assessing a child’s application for a place. An Advanced Diploma gets the same number of UCAS points as 3.5 A levels. All universities have said that they will accept an Advanced Diploma for entry onto a degree course. But just as with other qualifications, applicants will need to make sure that they choose one that meets the particular entry requirements for the degree courses they are interested in. They might also need to take an A level for their additional and specialist learning.

Q. What is a Diploma worth in the School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables?
A. The Diploma will be available at 3 different levels:

• Foundation – equivalent to 5 GCSEs at grades D to G
• Higher – equivalent to 7 GCSEs at grades A* to C
• Advanced – equivalent to 3.5 A levels

Q. What kind of careers will learners be equipped for having taken the Diploma in Retail Business?
A. Learners can progress into employment, with training, in any of the following or choose from a wide range of apprenticeships, other Diplomas, Foundation Degrees or go on to university. Careers will include opportunities in diverse areas including buying and merchandising, business enterprise, information technology, supply chain and logistics, marketing, communications and public relations, store operations, visual merchandising, finance and administration, human resources, automotive sales and customer contact centres.

 

For further questions and answers, see the following FAQ sections:

Employers
Educational professionals
Young people and parents
Higher education