DISCUSSION
New site wants to make independent grocery jobs into careers
Written by RetailWire Staff
Photo: @opkirilka via Twenty20
It’s not always easy to find grocery workers who have their eye on sticking with a company — especially an independent — and moving up, a fact The National Grocers Association Foundation hopes to address with its new NGA Foundation Career Center website.
The Career Center features a grocery industry-targeted job board with thousands of listings, but it goes beyond that, according to Progressive Grocer. The Center features job seeker services, like a complimentary resume review and tips for interviews and social media use, information on professional advancement resources, and an online training center with more than 170 courses.
For employers, there are advertising opportunities and resources for getting news of openings out to industry professionals who aren’t actively checking job boards. It also points students visiting the website to information on the NGA’s long-standing range of scholarship offerings and competitions.
The Career Center job board lists a broad range of roles available at local grocers nationwide. It includes entry-level store positions, sales roles, supply chain positions, tech/developer jobs and positions at various levels of store management.
The NGA’s move comes as large grocers have been implementing standalone initiatives to recruit and maintain talent in a tight labor market.
Walmart, for instance, announced the launch of a debt-free college plan earlier this year to court high school students. With fewer than 25,000 of its employees currently enrolled in high school, the plan offers the opportunity for up to seven hours of college credit, reliable scheduling for 13 weeks out, free SAT/ACT prep and debt-free degrees in areas adjacent to retailing at six participating non-profit universities.
In addition to the realities of a tight labor market, many major retailers have begun to espouse the importance of hiring "expert" staff to provide the type of experiences that contemporary customers are seeking. Such talent can be even more difficult to attract and retain.
As of May 2018, the grocery industry employs the second highest number of low wage workers in the U.S., according to Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers reported by Business Insider. Only the restaurant industry employs more low wage workers.