Supporting Retail

New WA Retail Workforce Group Formed

When you think of retail jobs, what typically comes to mind are the cashier and stocker positions; the people you see working the cash register at your local grocery store or stocking the floor at a department store, but retail jobs go far beyond that to include financial forecasting, site selectors, logistics and numerous other jobs whose purpose is to market products.
 
According to Washington Retail, there are approximately 400,000 retail jobs in Washington State. Using data from Chmura, we created a map showing the number of retail jobs per county. The sector has faced challenges in recent years from the pandemic to technology-induced changes. In addition,the retail industry has a very high turnover rate due to the customer service and support nature of most retail labor, seasonality, and lack of clear advancement incentives. This indicates a necessary transformation of retail career pathways if the industry is to evolve with changing technology and societal behavior.

In order to find a solution for the challenges facing the retail workforce, the Retail Workforce Group was created. This group will be focused on identifying retail career pathways including workplace upskilling and incentives, certification and credentialing standardization, and sequencing in skill attainment clearly tied to promotion milestones.

This workforce group was enacted as part of Senate Bill 6296. The bill required the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to establish a retail workgroup consisting of relevant stakeholders to identify education opportunities and programs in support of the retail sector and to recommend up to four colleges for pilot programs for short-term credentials in support of the retail workforce. The Center of Excellence for Global Trade and Supply Chain Management has been asked to be included in this group.
 
For more information on Senate Bill 6296 please click on the link here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=6296&Initiative=false&Year=2023
 
To view the Washington Retail Workforce Report, please click on the link here:
https://wtb.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Retail-Workforce-Analysis-Report.pdf