The retail sector in the UK is vast, producing nearly 8% of the UK’s GDP. Graduate retail jobs cover a number of different areas, from store-level operational roles through to Head Office positions in marketing, finance, buying, planning, IT and design teams. Plotting out your new career path within the retail sector can seem like a daunting task, but you have very wisely found Grad Central.
At Grad Central we have only one goal: find talented graduates from all over the country and place them into exciting jobs within the West Midlands region. Our dedication to retail businesses in the West Midlands enables us to source a wide range of graduate retail jobs in all areas of the industry.
The Retail industry in the West Midlands
The commercial footprint on the West Midlands region is quite substantial. The Office of National Statistics estimates that there are over 9000 wholesale and over 15000 retail businesses throughout the West Midlands region. The total value of retail trade was estimated at over £22 billion in 2007.
The West Midlands is currently home to over 16 major shopping centres, including the Bull Ring in Birmingham, the Arena Retail Park just outside Coventry, and Touchwood in Solihull. The footfall in West Midlands shopping centres exceeds more than 75 million visits per year. The Bull Ring is currently home to the second largest Debenhams store outside of London and one of only 4 Selfridges stores in the whole of the UK.
Depending on your chosen path, a typical graduate job in retail will require you to gain a thorough understanding of company and store operations. If you chose to work at a store level, you will be expected to work in shifts, with some weekend and late night work involved. Retail is a commercially driven sector, and in many roles your objectives will be set with commercially orientated goals in mind. No matter what set of skills you’ve developed, the world of retail has a use for your particular talents, whether you’re creative, analytical, or people-orientated.
Pick up the phone and give us a call on 01675 461500. Our latest graduate retail jobs are also listed below. We get new vacancies all the time, so if you don’t see anything immediately, register and sign up for job alerts to be instantly informed about new graduate jobs in retail as we get them.
Read about some of the talented graduates that we have placed on our case studies page.
