Skills4Retail Alliance Holds 5th Meeting – Building Momentum for the Future of Retail Skills

Date: 24 September 2025

Hosted by Nicole Bartolo (JA Europe), the 5th Skills4Retail Alliance Meeting brought together partners and stakeholders from across Europe to reflect on achievements, share best practices, and look ahead to the next stages of the project.

With 59 organisations now pledged, the Alliance continues to grow into a vibrant community committed to equipping Europe’s retail workforce with the skills needed for a digital, green, and resilient future.

Members heard first-hand insights from education providers and retail businesses piloting the Emerging Training Programme, designed to support both new entrants to retail and those progressing into management roles. The discussion reinforced the value of collaboration between educators, employers, and learners to ensure training reflects the realities of today’s retail landscape.

Highlights included a case study from Knights College, Malta, which showcased how embedding entrepreneurship programmes into the school curriculum is helping to equip students with practical skills and direct exposure to the retail industry. From the retail perspective, Bernhard Arbeiter of Hartlauer, Austria shared how the company is addressing key workforce challenges through leadership development, conflict management, workplace health promotion, and the expansion of digital learning opportunities. These examples illustrated the importance of aligning training initiatives with both educational frameworks and industry needs.

Alliance members are invited to continue the conversation in our community space:

Retail Skills Alliance Community LinkedIn Group
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If your organisation is not yet a member, now is the perfect time to get involved and help shape the future of retail skills across Europe.

Join the Alliance