WORKING in shops has too often been seen as the last resort by young people choosing their potential careers.

That’s the view of the people behind a scheme which is increasingly persuading bright young people to consider a career in retail.

Mandy Payne, who runs the consultancy Retail Resource, will launch the 2011 Student Retail Group tonight, at Twynham School in Christchurch.

Twynham has had retail on the school programme for the last two years and other schools have been joining up.

“We need to encourage the right people into retail,” says Mandy.

“For too long it’s been seen as a poor choice of career or the last one you get guided to if you don’t want to go anywhere else.”

That impression has sometimes been promoted by school careers officers, who have not in the past known very much about retail, she says.

The scheme at Twynham has involved students learning about retail and then running a shop for two weeks, with stock donated from local businesses and the profits going to charity Despite rising unemployment, the retail sector is predicting a skills gap in 2012-14, which initiatives like this could help fill.

Mandy is keen to promote the positives. There are opportunities for advancement in big companies, while those with entrepreneurial talent can pursue passions such as sport, health and beauty into a career.

With more schools joining the local initiative, the number of students has gone up from nine originally to 86 this year.

“These are young, quality-achieving people wanting to go onto a retail course because they understand and can see its potential for their future,” said Mandy.