ABOUT THE RETAIL INSTITUTE

Mission: Our role is to facilitate the delivery of best quality training and education systems, in order to improve productivity in the retail and wholesale distribution industries.

To achieve our mission we will become recognised experts in:

  • Best practise workplace learning.
  • An understanding of the current and future education and training needs of our industry:- the employers, trainees and industry organisations.
  • The business dynamics of our enterprises and the key drivers in ensuring the success of their day to day and future business.

Our strategy

We focus on the 30-40,000 supervisors, managers and business owners who work with the thousands of staff who make up New Zealand's retail and distribution industries, including casuals, temporary workers and young people still at school working part time.

Everything we do aims at helping managers have the skills and knowledge to train and upskill their ‘front line' staff.

We all benefit when more New Zealanders have better skills. To really deliver results, learning and education has to continue throughout a person's working life. Transforming New Zealand into a high-value economy requires an increasingly educated, skilled and adaptable workforce.

What is an ITO?

Retail Institute is an industry training organisation (ITO) that is owned and governed by the retail industry. Our Board includes representatives from large, medium and small retailers as well as the New Zealand Retailers Association.

Industry training organisations (ITOs) were established by the Industry Training Act 1992, to advise and facilitate training, set standards and help employees achieve NZQA-recognised national qualifications.

ITOs are responsible for providing leadership on future skill needs and developing strategic plans for their sector. There are 39 ITOs in New Zealand.

The Retail Institute is recognised by government under the Industry Training Act and is also fully registered and accredited with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), which allows it to register credits on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).