By Tyler Blakeley
When you think of careers in retail what comes to mind? Is it working the register at K-Mart over Christmas holidays? Or buying a pair of Vans?
“What if I told you that the retail industry was the second-largest employer in Australia, at 16 per cent,” Susana Morales, head teacher of retail at TAFE campuses across NSW said.
“Floristry, the hospitality industry, it all comes under the umbrella.”
According to Morales, it’s important to correct the misconceptions that surround the retail industry.
“We are like the thermometer of the economy,” she said. “When politicians look to get a measurement of the economy of the country, they look to the retail figures. It is an instant look at how we are spending, and it provides a health check inside Australian households.”
Since beginning her duties as head teacher in 2018, Morales has been developing the concept of The Retail Room.
“It was always the vision, and the mission,” she said.
The Retail Room is an initiative led by Morales and other TAFE teachers across the state, aiming to open several stores across key locations in NSW that are manned by TAFE retail students.
These stores are used as training grounds to teach the students valuable retail skills and are regularly opened to the public for wholesale goods sales.
The Retail Room headquarters is located at Granville TAFE complete with a flagship store designed by students and staff. Morales aims to open as many across the state as she can, with the next site planned for Ultimo.
The store operates as a gifts and homewares store, carrying everything from clothing to baby gifts. They look to source Australian products that have a story.
One such brand is Imagine, a luxury candle and diffuser business that operates out of a sheltered workshop in Wollongong, where all their products are handmade by people with disabilities.
The store also stocks homemade products created by community members.
Lyseng Eap, a retail student at Granville who works in the Retail Room, spoke about Alli Smith while showcasing a beautiful shelf of homemade earrings.
“Alli is 19 years old and made all this for the store,” Eap said. “I love to learn about products and teach people about them.”
Something everybody involved with the initiative is proud of is the sense of community that the Retail Room provides.
“Our students are bringing their family and friends, it’s all becoming a community,” Morales said. “We’re planning to go bigger and bigger from here.
“What I think is most special about the Retail Room is the students. They work in a beautiful space and operate as a real business. They open the store, they trade, they monitor … they get experience doing everything from stock management to being a supervisor.”
Featured Image: The Granville Retail Room. Photo: Tyler Blakeley
Listen to this story and much more by catching the Try TAFE show which will stream on TAFE Radio from 10am to 3pm today, September 10.
