Retail traineeships : tracing their evolution and impacts in Australia

The introduction of traineeships within the Australian retail industry has resulted in an unprecedented formalisation of vocational education and training policies and practices for retail organisations. Through changes to public policy and legislation, a system of nationally recognised and accredited qualifications is available for retail employees that purports to encourage skill acquisition across this area of the service sector. From an employment relations perspective, these changes are important as they have led to the interaction of a multitude of stakeholders and significant changes to the strategic choices available to managers. Arguably, it is necessary to examine not only the extent of such systematic changes. Therefore, this paper investigates contemporary research regarding retail traineeships, with the consideration of both qualitative and quantitative findings. Forming the groundwork for a research thesis, the purpose of this analysis is to provide thematic and methodological insights that can be utilised as a basis for indepth case study research.