Learning on and off the job: vocational education and training in the UK food and grocery retail buying occupation

Learning on and off the job: vocational education and training in the UK food and grocery retail buying occupation Darren Mark Schofield University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom This thesis sheds new light upon a socially significant, multi-dimensional occupation largely hidden from public view. UK food and grocery retail buyers influence our consumer choices, what we eat, our finances, and the wider environment from which the products they select and buy on behalf of UK retailers originate. Little has been written about their occupation and the VET and learning which educates these key employees in a sector of the UK economy estimated to be worth £190.3 billion. Drawing from the perceptions and lived experiences of a unique group of practising and former buyers from top 10 UK retailers, the thesis identifies and analyses factors of VET and workplace learning that might inform future vocational education for retail buying. Findings reveal the learning pathways, cultures and traditions of buyers, their core knowledge, skills and attributes and the role social learning plays in their occupation. Participant perceptions depict contradictory notions to conventions of post-16 education and qualifications yet paradoxically suggest, post16 qualifications may become a necessity for future entry to the retail buying occupation. This thesis identifies extensive opportunities to better understand, accelerate and enhance retail buying learning, especially in the areas of corporate social responsibility, pre-entry occupational knowledge and curriculum development. The thesis also introduces a conceptual framework that may offer a useful method for investigating VET in comparable competitive, fast-moving occupational environments. CONTACT Darren Mark Schofield schofield882@btinternet.com Degree and year: PhD (Education) August 2020 Supervisors: Professor Kevin Orr, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING 2021, VOL. 73, NO. 4, 623 https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2021.1995651 © 2021 The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd