Home > News
The Sheffield students were carefully chosen as the ‘Best of the Best' to install a window display and represent Britain at the World Retail Congress in Berlin, on 25-27th October, as part of the Retail Futures Challenge, an international retail competition for young people. The Sheffield student beat off stiff competition from the ‘crème de la crème' of young retail talent, beating countries including America, Australia, China, Italy and Japan.
The project was a joint initiative from Skillsmart Retail, the National Skills Academy for Retail, and the World Retail Congress in the run-up to WorldSkills 2011, which is designed to showcase the future talent that exists in the UK industry.
Students Jamie Oakes and Matt Webster gained their visual merchandising skills by sprucing up Sheffield city centre through the Sheffield Showcase project. The project brings together creative talent, retailers and apprentices to bring to life empty shop units in the city centre. The project creates an outdoor gallery in the city centre to boost the number of people coming into Sheffield to help businesses still operating in the area, as well as providing opportunities for future Sheffield retail talent who will drive the success of the New Retail Quarter in years to come.
Funded by Sheffield City Council and co-ordinated by the Council in partnership with Creative Sheffield and The Source, the project has worked with over 200 businesses since its launch in July 2009.
David Webber, Head of Visual merchandising at The Source said: "This was an incredible opportunity for the students, some of which haven't previously travelled outside the UK before; therefore to represent your nation on a global stage is amazing. I am delighted for Jamie and Matthew and their achievements since working on Sheffield Showcase."
Ann Cadman, Director at The Source at Meadowhall said: "This is one of the biggest and most important events in the retail calendar. For Sheffield to collaborate with the organisers to show off the depth of UK retail talent, is a huge tribute to the whole sector."
The success of UK retail students in Berlin comes just weeks after it was announced that visual merchandising has been accepted as a demonstration competition at WorldSkills, the world's largest vocational skills competition, which comes to London in 2011. This will be the first retail category in the international contest and Skillsmart Retail secured the support of nine countries for skillVM in 2011.
