Low Aussie skill levels in retail means we are importing Brits!

The positions of merchandise planner and buyer are growing in popularity and importance in Australia, but we have only recently begun to develop our own talents while in the UK this set of skills is well established. According to Nikki Giles of Sydney-based Hudson, a division of one of the world’s leading professional staffing providers, they are witnessing a growing need for merchandise and marketing skills but not enough suitable Australians to fill the positions on offer.

Employers are willing to train Australians, but some skills require years of education and experience and the need is immediate, so they are looking to recruit overseas. Hudson is now aggressively targeting the abundance of good merchandise planners and buyers in the UK.

This has been a huge success with an overwhelming number of replies from good quality candidates.

According to a spunky young Melbourne miss, home for a holiday but about to return to a new job in London HR-retail (reversing the trend!), we simply don’t recognise retail and its component parts as a career path here and our laid-back approach may be friendly but doesn’t always sit well with providing customer service – ditto for the hospitality industry!