Cooltrader

In just seven years since they were founded, they have 47 stores all over England and Wales and plan to open a further 10 new stores every year.

But, whilst they pride themselves on their value products, this is not at the expense of their retail environment or customer service.

Their formal relationship with Warwickshire College began in June 2007 with a meeting to discuss their business needs. From there a programme was drawn up which was directly linked to the growth and service aspirations of the business.

Cooltrader’s staff numbers 550 people ranging from 16-year-olds right through to the company directors. 30 per cent have already completed an NVQ Level 2 in Retail and the aim is to put another 55 per cent of the customer-facing staff through it on an ongoing basis, rising to an overall completion level of 90 per cent. For all new staff the Retail NVQ will become a mandatory requirement.

In addition, Cooltrader has recently opened a new independent distribution depot in Oswestry and intend to train their warehousing and distribution staff in skills pertinent to their role.

Claire Hindley, HR Manager said: “Our programme is definitely working wonders for us. We have measured increased levels of staff retention, motivation and productivity borne out by a 20 per cent increase in like-for-like sales.

“We now intend to train our managerial staff in supervisory management and team leading and we are also going to recruit about 40 – 50 apprentices doing the new Business NVQ. We’ll probably implement the training for ten people at a time.

“Warwickshire College has been very good to deal with. Unlike others who are desperate to sell you any training, they have listened to and discussed our business needs and come up with a programme that is tailored to help us meet our objectives. They also give a superb service which has made it all so easy. I am very happy and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to any other employer.”