The anticipated opening of the massive Victoria Centre in Belfast next spring and numerous other retail developments has highlighted a serious shortage of staff in the sector.

According to a report, Northern Ireland must start preparing now for expected massive growth in the retail sector or face even greater strains on an ever more competitive labour market.

That was the warning from an industry organisation which predicted as many as 13,000 new jobs as the current retail boom gathers force.

The report from the Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for the UK industry, said Government and employers must act now in order to avoid a skills shortage that could prevent the economy from growing to its full potential.

It cited one example where a firm was able to attract only half the number of applications required.

“The expansion of the retail sector in Northern Ireland has been phenomenal in recent years,” said Tory Kerley, national manager for Skillsmart Retail.

“The career opportunities are fantastic and we need to ensure that teachers and parents are aware of that.

“However, we need to take action now to ensure future staffing needs are met, particularly in view of the unparalleled growth that the sector is currently seeing.

“We also need to challenge the perceptions of Government and the general public around careers in retail, highlight the fantastic range of opportunities available in the sector, and underline the vital role retail is playing in regenerating our economy,” said the manager.

Adding that the retail boom had seen the number of retail outlets in the Province rise from 6,500 to 9,000 in five years, she said employment in the sector had already risen to over 90,000 making it the biggest private sector employer in the region.

The study found that this growth is set to continue, with an extra 89 million sq mt of retail developments in the pipeline both from multinationals and independent stores.

Statistics from the Institute for Employment Research (IER) suggested that this will create 13,000 jobs between 2004 and 2014 with a further 32,000 vacancies arising as a result of people leaving the sector.

However, the research found that this growth, along with a more general economic boom afforded by the peace process, has meant that there has been a tightening of the labour market with less workers available for an ever-increasing number of jobs.

This has caused problems for large retailers seeking to open new developments and employers taking part in the study said that they had problems finding warehousing, frontline staff management and in other specialities at local corporate level (sales, marketing and finance).

The study found problems with addressing these skills needs, and a lack of Government involvement in dealing with them.

It found that a great deal of internal training was being carried out by the retailers themselves, but estimated that for every pound spent for training in the retail sector, only seven pence came from the public purse.

(BMcC)