Although most sales, retail and customer services jobs do not require new employees to have qualifications before they start work, many employers provide in-house training and development opportunities, and training and national certificates are available through the Retail Institute in areas such as:

• sales
• marketing
• customer service
• management
• meat and seafood retailing
• floristry.

Modern Apprenticeships are also available through the Retail Institute, Retail Meat ITO and the New Zealand Motor ITO.

Many people start in sales, retail and customer services jobs, working part time as a retail sales assistant. From there, there are many opportunities for progression including:

• moving on to work for bigger retail outlets to gain more skills and experience
• moving into management roles such as managing a department of a large retail outlet, or working as assistant manager or retail manager
• working as a regional manager for a retail chain
• owning your own business
• moving into sales representative roles.

The skills and experience used in retail and customer services can be transferred to many different areas, so there are also opportunities to complete further training and work behind the scenes for large retail or sales businesses in areas such as finance and accounting, marketing, administration or human resources.

Watch a 'Just the Job' video on how your retail skills can be used to progress into other areas of employment