Waterford City and County Council’s Economic Development and Local Enterprise Office Waterfordare seeking expressions of interest from retail business owners or managers in Waterford city, Tramore or Dungarvan who wish to avail of a heavily subsidised place on the Retail Excellence Ireland Management Development programme.
Now in its seventh year the programme is regarded as the most influential and formative retail management development programme in Ireland, with over 1,000 retail store managers, supervisors and independent retailers partaking.
David Walsh, Business Advisor with LEO Waterford said this programme will provide a great opportunity to those in the retail industry to hear from innovative and engaging experts in the field of retail. “There are challenges in all industries and retail is no exception. By offering a number of subsidised places on this valuable course, Waterford retail businesses will have the chance to learn from the experts and apply that advice and insight into driving business success. The programme explores a myriad of topics including harnessing staff talent, marketing and promotions and creating a target driven sales culture.”
The Book Centre in John Roberts Square is a member of Retail Excellence Ireland and completed the programme in 2018. According to Maeve Ryan, Managing Director, the benefits of the programme were manifold.
“There are many business courses available to the retail sector, but from our experience, the REI Management Development programme is the most effective. Our managers who completed the course were impressed with the expertise and calibre of the speakers and what they learned from them. The programme sets out a roadmap for retailers that is not only engaging and informative but more importantly delivers results.”
Lisa Grant, Economic Development Officer, Waterford City and County Council added that Waterford, as principal retail destination in the South East, has a large number of independent retailers that could benefit from this programme. “Waterford Council also recognises and values the key role that retail plays in Waterford’s economic development and as a key employer for the county. We see this programme as a way to support our local retailers to grow to meet the new challenges facing the retail sector.”
The REI Management Development Programme takes place on March 11th, March 25th, April 8thand April 22ndat the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown and some of the topics include Strengthening Management Skillsets (James Burke & Associates), Understanding KPI’s (David Fitzsimons, Group CEO Retail Excellence), Customer Experience (Susannah Hewson, CX Change) and How to effectively manage a store (Eamonn Kelleher, Co-op Superstore) and many more.
If you are a small retail business owner or manager (less than 50 employees), located in Waterford City, Tramore or Dungarvan and are interested in availing of a subsidised place on the REI Management Development Programme with LEO Waterford and Waterford City and County Council, expression of interest forms are available on www.localenterprise.ie/Waterford/.
Closing date for completed EOI’s is midday Wednesday, February 26th, with successful applicants being notified by COB on Friday February