Occupational Profiles and Needs Analysis of the European Retail Sector

by WKO & Accenture (JA Europe as the project lead for Skills4Retail)

The Skills4Retail project focuses on fast-tracking the ‘Triple Transition’ of Digital, Green and Resilience in the retail sector, helping retailers to embrace ecommerce and ensuring their new business models are sustainable from the start. The project's goal is to design a new Retail Skills Strategy and VET Training Programme that will address the urgent and emerging skills needs of retailers in the key areas of Digital, Green and Resilience. It will focus on training fresh new talent for the sector through training programmes in VET schools, institutes and higher education institutions, and the reskilling of the existing workforce via work-based learning and short-term modular courses.

As part of this initiative, the Occupational Profiles and Needs Analysis report aims to anticipate and address the evolving occupational and training needs of the retail sector by 2030. The project identifies five core themes critical for future-proofing retail talent:

  • Digital Skills

  • Green and Resilience Skills

  • Learning to Learn

  • Basic Core Retail Skills (e.g. customer-facing, cognitive, and managerial)

  • Self-Efficacy and Personal Development

A mixed-methods approach—comprising surveys, expert interviews, and desk research across eight European countries—was used to assess training gaps and employer needs. This effort led to the modernisation of 10 priority occupational profiles, selected from over 3,000 ESCO entries and validated by market experts:

  1. Shop Assistant

  2. Store Manager

  3. Warehouse Worker

  4. Buyer

  5. Merchandiser

  6. E-Commerce Specialist

  7. Supply Chain Manager

  8. Sustainability Officer

  9. Security Manager

  10. Corporate Training Manager

To further support curriculum design and workforce planning, five learner personas were developed: Student, Shop Assistant, Store Manager, Warehouse Worker, and L&D Manager.

Key barriers to effective training were also identified:

  • Employers often take an ineffective approach to workforce learning.

  • Employees lack awareness and motivation to pursue upskilling.

To overcome these, the project proposes five design principles for effective training interventions:

  1. Needs-Based Content

  2. Flexible Delivery

  3. Personalised Learning

  4. Affordability

  5. Quality Assurance

The retail sector continues to face broad macroeconomic and operational challenges—including supply chain disruptions, tighter regulations, rising costs, and shifts in consumer behavior—all of which heighten the urgency for workforce transformation.