You become a QSK retail specialist after passing the Federal Professional Examination, which is conducted by the Quality Assurance Commission for Retail Specialists. The examination fee is CHF 1,050 and the total cost of the QSK retail trade specialist course is around CHF 10,000, making you a sought-after generalist in the retail trade sector. With the knowledge you have acquired about sales and everything that promotes and supports it, you can work as a department manager, branch manager or as a self-employed person.

• Federal certificate of proficiency as a retail trade specialist (EFZ) and at least three years of professional experience in the retail trade.

or

• Other 3-year basic vocational training or equivalent training and 4 years of professional experience in the retail trade.

or

• Federal Vocational Certificate in Retail Assistant (EBA) and at least five years of professional experience in the textile retail trade.

or

• Anyone who does not have one of the aforementioned certificates must provide evidence of ten years' professional experience in the retail trade.

and

• 1 year of management experience in retail trade

and

• Required module qualifications or certificates of equivalence

A retail specialist takes on demanding specialist and management tasks in the retail trade. The tasks in retail specialist jobs include procuring goods, managing the warehouse, attractive product presentation, conducting market research and evaluating customer surveys. A retail specialist works in a supermarket, specialty store or specialty store. Retail specialists also deal with errors and compliance with safety measures as well as process optimization. In the area of finance and accounting, retail specialists determine important key figures, draw up budgets and calculate costs. They are also responsible for the optimal deployment of personnel.

A specialist in retail trade has the following responsibilities after graduation:

• Ensuring the sales success of the branch/department
• Branch manager in larger branches Deputy
• Product range design, goods procurement, logistics and marketing
• Personnel management
• Comply with regulations regarding goods and technical equipment
• Budget compliance

The following are the Retail Trade Specialist requirements for the Federal Professional Examination:

• Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training as a retail trade specialist or as a retail trade employee or equivalent and at least three years of professional experience in the retail trade after completing an apprenticeship.

or

• Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training or equivalent and at least four years of professional experience in retail trade after completing an apprenticeship.

or

• Professional certificate as a retail trade assistant and at least five years of professional experience in the retail trade after completing basic training.

or

• None of the aforementioned qualifications and at least ten years of professional experience in the retail trade.

and

• Proof of at least one year in a management position in the retail trade.
• Proof of the required module qualifications or confirmation of equivalence.

Those interested in retail specialist training expect the following insights from an information event at the school:

• 70 % Key data on further training
• 63 % Information on the training method
• 62 % View learning materials
• 55 % Get to know the school better
• 53 % learn more about future career opportunities
• 35 % Info on success rates and ratings "Retail specialist"
• 34 % can clarify individual questions
• 28 % Hold discussions with lecturers
• 24 % Meet and interview graduates
• 23 % Information on the Swiss education system
• 16 % See classroom

A survey of training graduates provides a benchmark for the amount of time spent on self-study - e.g. casework for retail trade specialists. According to this, graduates of further education courses spent the following amount of time per week:

• 1 % less than one hour
• 8 % one to two hours
• 20 % three to four hours
• 18 % five to six hours
• 19 % seven to eight hours
• 11 % nine to ten hours
• 8 % eleven to fifteen hours
• 15 % more than fifteen hours

For holders of the Federal Certificate of Competence as a Retail Trade Specialist who are interested in a comprehensive education in the retail trade sector and want to deepen their knowledge in the disciplines of corporate management, financial and personnel management as well as communication and information management, we recommend attending the higher professional examination for retail trade managers with a federal diploma.

Further possibilities are:

• Professional specialization as a category manager or merchandiser
• Higher professional examination for a federal diploma as a retail economist, buyer, sales manager or marketing manager
• Advanced technical college HF in business administration or marketing management
• With vocational baccalaureate: University of Applied Sciences degree in Business Administration

The Retail Trade Specialist training course for the Federal Professional Examination in Retail Trade Specialist with Federal Certificate consists of the following modules:

• Module 1: Company and environment
• Module 2: Personnel leadership and personnel management
• Module 3: Finance and accounting
• Module 4: Procurement and logistics
• Module 5: Sales and marketing

A survey of people who have enquired at one or more schools about further training as a retail specialist reveals the following results:

• In 50% of cases, an online assessment triggered the school inquiry
• 33.75 % were recommended the school they enquired about
• 16.25 % already knew the school/s before the request

Schools with good online ratings or well-known schools with which a prospective student has already been satisfied are almost always shortlisted for the new training course. This survey by the education platform Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch therefore also confirms this for the retail trade specialist course. As an additional important reason, respondents gave us the following text responses: "The school is the easiest to reach", "Bernese schools", "the school is close to where I live", "is nearby", "compare several together", "due to start date" and "by chance".

In a first step, the Retail Trade Specialist exam tests the five modules Company and Environment, Human Resources Management, Finance and Accounting, Procurement and Logistics, Sales and Marketing.

Successful completion is required for admission to the Federal Professional Examination for Retail Trade Specialists with a Federal Certificate of Competence and is considered proof of competence.

The Federal Professional Examination is divided into a case study and an assessment day.

The case work is sent out for processing 14 weeks before the examination and must be submitted no later than 6 weeks before the examination. The result is presented at the Federal Professional Examination.

On the assessment day, critical incidents must be answered and a planning task solved and presented.

You should meet these personal requirements for the retail trade specialist apprenticeship:

• Customer orientation
• Service orientation
• communicative competence
• Pleasure in consulting and sales
• analytical skills
• Sociability

Most people interested in a training course want to check at the beginning of the interest phase whether the course meets their personal requirements for further training. This is also confirmed by a survey conducted by Ausbildung-Weiterbildung among those interested in retail specialist training. Almost all respondents cited this as the reason for their interest - namely 61%. 29% were interested in the course because they had received a recommendation. 10% of respondents were interested in further training because it is often mentioned in job advertisements. Other reasons given in free text responses are as follows:

• "Because I have a qualification as an EFZ retail specialist"
• "I want to get closer to my professional goal"
• "The course is a prerequisite for a job I'm applying for"
• "Expansion of specialist knowledge"