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The Source at Meadowhall is delighted to announce that it is to be awarded Retail Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) status at a ceremony at Sheffield’s Millennium Galleries on Thursday 2nd November.  This significant achievement is in recognition of the hard work of the team at The Source in the three years since the learning centre opened and its significant achievements in meeting the training demands of Yorkshire retailers and their employees.

Today over 11% of the working population is employed in the retail industry, yet training provision within the sector is often very limited.  What The Source has done is to develop a raft of industry leading training courses that deliver the specific technical and vocational skills that are required in the diverse roles within the retail sector, including distribution and warehousing, customer service and hospitality.  Through its links with Meadowhall, The Source is in a unique position to be able offer fully integrated packages of training which combine classroom based learning with on the job work experience within retail units throughout the Centre.

Dianne Wainwright, Manager of The Source at Meadowhall, comments, "The recognition of The Source’s contribution to the retail sector through the attainment of CoVE status really confirms the team’s hard work and achievements in meeting the training demands of the sector. 

"To become the West and South Yorkshire Centre of Excellence for retail training we have worked in partnership with Leeds Park Lane College and Sheffield Trainers Ltd., which has allowed us to significantly upgrade our facilities, equipment and delivery over the last 12 months.  We now hope to attract even more retail businesses across the county to take advantage of the training and support available to them at The Source to boost the skills of their existing workforce and to try and attract new recruits to the industry.  Retail is a dynamic and varied industry and we hope that through improved training provision, The Source can help give employment within the sector the recognition it deserves."

The CoVE programmes are central to the Learning and Skills Council’s aim to improve and develop the skills that are needed to underpin business success and economic competitiveness.  They aim to widen participation in learning to non-typical learners and in so doing provide a ladder of opportunity to higher education. 

At tomorrow’s event at the Millennium Galleries, retailers from across South Yorkshire have been invited to come along and find out more about the support available to them and find out about how their own company training programmes can result in nationally recognised qualifications being awarded to their workforce.

For further information about the Retail CoVE, please contact Dianne Wainwright at The Source on Tel: 0114 2635655.