Learning Without Borders: How Skills4Retail Is Taking Hold in Central & Eastern Europe

When Skills4Retail launched, its ambition was always European in scope, not just geographically, but in spirit. Retail is a global industry. The challenges facing a store manager in Warsaw are not so different from those facing one in Waterford. The digital skills gap opening across the sector does not respect national borders.

Two of the most active and illuminating pilots in the Skills4Retail network are currently taking place in the Czech Republic and Latvia. Both countries have rapidly evolving retail sectors, and educators in each are embracing the programme with real enthusiasm.

Czech Republic: Hands-On Learning at Karlínská obchodní akademie Praha

When JA Czech first brought Skills4Retail into Karlínská obchodní akademie Praha, also known as Kollárovka, in early 2026, it marked an important milestone. It became the first Czech school to formally join the Skills4Retail network.

The school, a well-regarded business academy in Prague’s Karlín district, was already known for its practical approach to commercial education. This made it a natural home for Skills4Retail’s hands-on methodology.

What makes Kollárovka particularly interesting as a pilot site is the depth of its real-world learning infrastructure. The school operates three in-house training environments: a snack bar, a student club and a café, all run by students.

Combined with a two-week professional internship at Tesco, this creates a learning environment that is already closely connected to industry reality. Skills4Retail has added a new layer of structured, curriculum-backed content to that foundation.

Three modules have been explored at the school so far, each generating distinct and valuable feedback.

Exploring AI in Retail

Students were direct about what excited them most about the AI in Retail module:

“Learning about AI in retail is very interesting and enjoyable for us. We would welcome closer cooperation with a retail chain, and we would also like to become familiar with specific technological tools, such as smart cameras or e-ink price tags.”

This is the voice of a generation that is not afraid of artificial intelligence. Students want to be taught how to understand and use it.

Making Sustainability Practical

Reflecting on the sustainability module, a teacher at the school explained how it helped make abstract principles more tangible:

“Skills4Retail enabled me to show students more effectively, and above all practically, how sustainability principles can be applied in business and how companies can operate in an environmentally friendly way without placing too much burden on the business itself.”

Understanding the Customer Experience

One teacher summarised the impact of the customer experience module on the school community:

“The project enabled both teachers and students to better understand customer needs and the importance of high-quality services in the retail sector.”

This speaks to the heart of what effective retail education should achieve: helping learners understand not only how retail businesses operate, but also how they can respond to the needs and expectations of customers.

The Czech Retail Context

The Czech Republic has one of Central Europe’s most developed retail markets, with a mix of domestic chains, international operators and a fast-growing e-commerce sector.

Online retail now accounts for a significant share of total retail activity. In a country where retail is both a major employer and a fast-changing sector, the need for a skilled and digitally literate workforce is acute. The opportunity to begin building this knowledge at vocational education and training level is therefore significant.

Latvia: Practical Testing at Riga State Technical School

In Latvia, the Skills4Retail pilot is being led by Riga State Technical School, an institution with a strong tradition in technical and vocational education.

The school is actively testing the training modules as part of the programme’s wider quality assurance process. Its teachers and students are helping to shape the content that will ultimately be used by schools and training organisations across the Skills4Retail network.

The feedback from Latvia has been candid and constructive, exactly what a programme in development needs.

One student offered a perspective that demonstrates genuine engagement with the wider implications of the learning materials:

“Artificial intelligence is capable not only of processing data, but also of providing strategic recommendations to improve efficiency, for example, by optimising routes and schedules to save time and reduce costs. It is currently essential to place greater emphasis on both theoretical knowledge and practical AI skills.”

An educator at the school praised the quality of the content while also providing valuable feedback on localisation:

“The learning materials provided valuable insight into current processes in the business environment. In the future, it would be useful to expand them with information on the specific characteristics of the Latvian market and the practical application of artificial intelligence across different sectors.”

This kind of feedback, specific, constructive and grounded in local knowledge, is extremely valuable for a programme that aims to be genuinely European in its relevance, rather than simply European in its reach.

The Latvian Retail Context

Latvia’s retail landscape reflects a wider pattern across Central and Eastern Europe. The sector has modernised rapidly, with strong domestic retailers operating alongside significant international investment and a growing e-commerce market.

Latvia is also part of the Baltic digital economy, one of Europe’s most technologically advanced regional clusters. As a result, there is a particularly strong appetite for practical digital skills across the workforce.

What Connects Prague and Riga

These pilots are taking place in different countries, within different school cultures and retail environments. Yet the same pattern is emerging from both.

Students are engaged when learning connects directly to the real world. Teachers see value in materials that provide new ways to bring industry practices into the classroom. Both groups also have a clear understanding of how the retail skills landscape is changing and what learners will need to navigate it.

For Skills4Retail, that consistency across borders is not simply encouraging. It is the whole point.

The feedback gathered through these pilots will help strengthen the Skills4Retail Emerging Training Programme, ensuring that its courses can respond to different national contexts while remaining focused on the shared skills needs of Europe’s retail workforce.

Bring Skills4Retail to Your Organisation

Interested in bringing Skills4Retail into your school, training institution or organisation?

Explore the Emerging Training Programme,
Access the Skills4Retail courses and training materials,
Find out how your organisation can join the Skills4Retail Pledge Alliance.