At the Fashion Retail Academy, we're always looking at new courses and opportunities for our students. We're proud to be collaborating with UK and international retailers to offer Fashion and Retail Apprenticeships.
We offer professional Apprenticeship programmes at Level 2, Level 3, Level 4 and Level 6. They're usually between one and three years long. During this time, you’ll be employed by a fashion and/or retail brand whilst studying with the Fashion Retail Academy to gain an industry-recognised Apprenticeship Standard.
If we don't currently have a live vacancy you're interested in, why not consider one of our full-time courses? All our timetables are structured over two full days a week, so you can continue working part-time whilst you study.
In 2020-21, 82% of our apprentices passed their courses with distinction.
EARN WHILST YOU LEARN
We run a range of apprenticeship programmes and vacancies come up throughout the year. Click on 'current vacancies' above to see what is available now.
Level 2
Customer Service Practitioner
On this apprenticeship, you’ll learn excellent customer service skills and behaviours, along with product and/or service knowledge to share with customers. As a Customer Service Practitioner, your actions will directly influence customers’ experience and their satisfaction with your brand. You'll deliver high-quality products and services to customers from stores, online, or by visiting them.
Level 3
Customer Service Specialist
As a Customer Service Specialist, you’ll be an authority for customer support in your business. You’ll be an advocate for great customer service, acting as a referral point for dealing with more complex or technical customer requests, complaints, and queries. On this apprenticeship programme, you’ll become an expert in your brand’s products and services. You’ll also learn to collect and analyse customer data and information, using this to influence change and improvements in service.
Level 2
Retailer
Retailers help customers buy products or services from businesses. As a Retailer apprentice, you’ll develop your understanding of the stock being sold by your business. You’ll also learn all the ways customers can shop and how to process payments. To be successful in this role, you’ll enjoy meeting a wide range of people and be motivated by completing a sale, knowing a customer is happy with their purchase. You must be keen to deliver quality service and always aim to exceed customers’ expectations.
Level 3
Business Administrator
Business Administrators have highly transferable knowledge, skills and behaviours that can be useful across many types of organisations. As a Business Administrator, you’ll be developing, implementing and improving administrative services to add value to a business. Your work will contribute to the efficiency of the organisation, by supporting functional areas, working across teams and resolving issues. You’ll also develop key skills to support your progression to management responsibilities.
Level 3
Fashion Studio Assistant
A Fashion Studio Assistant is a key position in the design team. Studying this apprenticeship, you’ll get experience in both the product and commercial sides of a brand. You’ll develop your understanding of how a design team functions and how a clothing collection is made, marketed and sold. You’ll start the programme in the studio, learning how collections are created. Then, you’ll spend 12 months in a more focused area of the business such as product development and production, sales and operations; or marketing and communications.
Level 4
Buying & Merchandising Assistant
Buying and Merchandising Assistants work together to create clothing collections that meet brand sales and profit targets. On this apprenticeship programme, the buying modules teach you the skills to work alongside suppliers to select and purchase new products for a collection. The merchandising modules teach you to create and analyse product sales and performance reports. You’ll learn to identify trends and trading patterns, communicating your findings as needed.
Level 4
Retail Manager
Retail managers are in charge of creating a positive experience in their stores, so shoppers become loyal, repeat customers and ultimately help the brand achieve its sales targets. Studying this apprenticeship, you’ll develop your skills in business and people management, and use these to support the vision and objections of a brand. You’ll learn how to maximise income and minimise wastage within a retail store. You’ll also learn how to support a team of staff with their personal development, encouraging them to develop their own skills to further improve business performance and productivity.
Level 6
Assistant Buyer/Merchandiser
As an Assistant Buyer or Merchandiser, you’ll have a deep understanding of your brand and customer. You’ll use this to source, maintain and deliver the right products to meet demand and business objectives. By developing your forecasting, risk analysis, creative and business skills, you’ll anticipate and shape market trends. The Buying pathway focuses on identifying and sourcing the right products and services for the organisation to sell to customers. The Merchandising pathway is all about making sure that the right products are available to customers in the right place, at the right time and in the right quantities.
Level 4 - Buying and Merchandising Assistant TJX
At TJX we want YOU, we are offering you the opportunity to join us as a Buying Administration Apprentice. You will gain a Level 4 qualification whilst working in a fast-paced, energetic and diverse Buying Operations Team. Apprenticeships give you the chance to earn whilst you learn!
| Brand | TK Maxx trading as TJX Europe |
| Duration | 16 Months |
| Course Assigned To | Buying & Merchandising Assistant |
| Location | Watford |
| Salary | Competitive |
| Start Date | September 2023 |
| Age Group | 16+ |
If you haven’t found the Apprenticeship vacancy of your interest, please complete the form below. You'll be added to our database, and contacted when we have a vacancy which matches your interests.
Alternatively, you can search our full-time courses.
END-POINT ASSESSMENT
Fashion and Retail Awards is a socially-driven assessment organisation led by retail specialists. Linked with the Fashion Retail Academy, the dual purpose is to provide industry-leading assessment services while raising the standards of the talent pipeline by investing our profits in retail education. Here are a few reasons to use Fara as an end-point assessor;
- A multitude of expert Assessors
- An assessment you can trust
- 100% of Profits go to charity
- Industry Specialists
- Flexible Service tailored to you
- People first approach
