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Sales assistants sell products and help customers.
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on a rota
In this role you could:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work at a store, in a stock room, at a garden centre or at a garage.
Your working environment may be physically demanding and crowded.
You can get into this job through:
You can learn some of the skills you need for this job by doing a:
You'll usually need:
You could get into this job through a retailer intermediate apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You could apply for permanent jobs after getting some experience from:
Getting experience volunteering in a charity shop will give you retail skills and could lead into paid work.
You can apply directly for jobs. Employers may ask for some GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and maths. Retail or customer service experience will also be helpful.
You'll need to:
It will help if you:are confident about selling; have a positive, helpful attitude; can get on well with a wide range of customers
Some stores, like mobile phone or DIY shops, may expect you to have good knowledge of their products before you apply.
With experience you could become a retail supervisor, manager or departmental manager.
You may be able to gain further qualifications for these roles through higher level apprenticeships like a retail leadership degree apprenticeship.
You could specialise in customer services, visual merchandising or buying. You could also set up and run your own independent shop or stall.