The U.S. Department of Labor announced new tools to train workers for careers across the retail and financial services industries.
Thursday’s announcement is part of the High Growth Job Training Initiative, a series of business partnerships to target education and skills development resources for careers in growing industries.
The DOL says these tools can help companies train individuals to advance within their fields.
For example, a competency model can help a company transform an insurance claims adjuster into a skilled fraud investigator, or turn a retail sales associate into a general manager.
For retention purposes, these training tools can help generate interest among workers who may not have previously considered internal growth positions.
“For recruiters, they can use these resources for succession planning, training, and building interest. It could be very useful for employers who have workers who perhaps had not yet considered new avenues for career growth,” says Jennifer Kaplan, public affairs director for the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration.
For example, the new retail pyramid features all of the skills necessary to get from the bottom to the top of one’s career.
“From Layer 1 to Layer 9, it’s a way to proceed up a career ladder. It’s a way to plot out your career and skills development,” says Kaplan.
For a retail professional who is interested in attaining a management-level position, clicking on the “business writing” block will explain how these skills will help in future promotions.
The pyramid lists business writing as a necessary skill that requires organization and development through “Ideas [that] are well developed with supporting information and examples.”
And retail associates can also determine critical work functions, which include maintaining the appearance of the department/store to knowledge of stock-room organization, re-stock, and overstock practices.
The National Retail Federation Foundation and a number of major retailers took part in the development of the retail model. To develop the financial services competency model, representatives from the industry included members of the Financial Services Roundtable and other companies.