Service Skills South Australia Skills Bridge for the Services Industries

Retail Executive Program

The Retail Executive Program is the central plank of the Master Plan and involves an accelerated retail career development program for up‐skilling high potential employees through to executive level. The program involves the integrated best practice use of nationally accredited training enhanced by industry mentoring. It operates from Certificate IV to Diploma and is articulated to University via a Graduate Certificate and Masters in Retail Management.

In excess of 1600 participants are now graduating or being trained by a consortium of seventeen Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), and supported by Service Skills SA, which has implemented four key mechanisms to assist participants in achieving success:

• Skill recognitions
• Case management
• Mentoring
• RTO Support

Skills Recognition

The RXP includes a sophisticated screening and recognition process to ensure that existing skills are identified and formally recognised reducing the resultant time required to obtain the qualifications. Both employers and employees are involved in assessing the current level of skills and knowledge, then together with the Registered Training Organisation a Personal Learning Plan is developed for each participant to meet their specific needs.

Case management

SSSA has developed Case Management Guidelines for the Registered Training Organisations to ensure that each individual's progress is monitored and specific needs are addressed to ensure they have the best chance of success. In addition SSSA provides external monitoring of progress and advice and support to those involved in the Retail Executive Program.

Mentoring 

To accommodate these needs the ‘RXP Mentoring Portfolio' was developed. This approach is based on the concept of ‘structured flexibility', and aims to provide each RTO with a suite of mentoring options from which components can be selected, allowing them to develop a participant's mentoring portfolio which can meet both individual and enterprise needs. Every participant in the RXP will have a personal mentor, whether provided internally by their enterprise or externally from the RXP personal mentor pool.

The RXP Mentoring Portfolio will eventually include:

• E-Mentor network

• Expert Mentor sessions

• Peer Speed Mentoring

• Personal Mentor