Skills Minister David Lammy has approved the expansion of a brand new National Skills Academy for Retail, making it the tenth member to join the national network of employer-led 'centres of excellence.'

The Academy for Retail will create a consistent national approach for training and skills as well as establishing and overseeing the UK’s first network of local retail 'Skills Shops' which will be run by local stakeholders, developers, training providers and the retailers themselves.

Minister for Skills, David Lammy, said: "The Retail Academy will play a pivotal role in helping to ensure the existing and future workforce has the right skills to meet the challenges facing the sector.

"The network will be key to supporting progression, creating jobs, tackling strategic skills shortages and driving up productivity. This important addition to the network brings us closer to meeting our aspiration for a skills academy for each major sector of the economy."

Retail is currently the UK’s largest employment sector, comprising nearly 300,000 businesses and employing a tenth of the UK’s workforce. Retailers such as BAA, BMB Clothing, Boots, Claire’s Accessories, Dollond and Aitchison, John Lewis Partnership, Marks and Spencer and Tesco have already pledged to support the scheme.