Two Nations of Shopkeepers: Training for Retailing in France and Britain

Abstract

Previous comparisons of French and British vocational training, published by the National Institute in this series, have focused on mechanics, electricians, construction workers and office workers; these drew attention to the importance of French full-time vocational secondary schools for 14-18 year-olds. This article compares training for the retail trades in the two countries during the present period of structural change brought about by the advance of self-service. in the light of French experience, current British policies for raising the numbers trained in retailing occupations, and for more coherent training standards, are critically examined.

Gender and Service: New Directions for the Study of ‘Front‐Line’ Service Work

“…The first is the numerical importance of service jobs in contemporary economies. Although the categorization of official statistics makes it difficult to mark off jobs with direct contact with service‐recipients easily, the numerical importance of such service jobs can be shown by pointing out simply that over 10 per cent of the UK workforce are employed in the retail sector (Jarvis and Prais, 1989), and that ‘more Americans now work in physicians’ offices than in auto plants, in laundries and dry cleaners than in steel mills’ (Herzenberg et al ., 1998, p. 3). The second point is that, despite the numerical importance of service jobs, they are both relatively under‐researched and tend to be made invisible in the ways in which contemporary economies are conceptualized.…”

Multinational Retailers in China: Proliferating ‘McJobs’ or Developing Skills?*

“…This expectation might be heightened with respect to UK retail firms. Britain is reported to have a poorly educated and trained workforce compared to other advanced industrial nations (Glynn and Gospel, 1993; Grugulis et al., 2004), a situation reflected in its retail sector (Jarvis and Prais, 1989). This paper provides empirical evidence to assess these dimensions in multinational retailers in a developing country.…”

The Contribution of National Vocational Qualifications to the Growth of Skills in the UK

“…While in retailing, an area that had traditionally lacked formal qualifications, NVQs have been unfavourably compared to qualifications available in France (Jarvis and Prais, 1989).…”

“…Since an NVQ could be achieved after two years while the 'full apprenticeship' typically took three and a half to four years, this estimate probably errs on the side of generosity. Other studies note the lowering of standards in construction (Callendar 1992), hairdressing (Raggatt 1994; also reported in Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme, 15 December 1993), management (Grugulis 1997), and electrical engineering (Smithers 1993); while in retailing, an area that had traditionally lacked formal qualifications, NVQs have been unfavourably compared with qualifications available in France (Jarvis and Prais 1989).…”