Retail Acumen believes in CSR and supports good causes for the retail industry and also initiatives that benefit our local area and community. Some examples of these are below:

Retail Acumen Support The Retail Trust
Retail Acumen Support The Make Your Mark Campaign
Retail Acumen Support West Herts College

Retail Acumen is pleased to be supporting the ReWork programme run by Retail Trust, which is the principal charity for the retail industry.

We want to see people with retail skills stay in the retail sector. ReWork is a brand new service that helps users who are facing redundancy to identify a career path that suits their own needs and it can help find potential employers. Retail Trust's ReWork programme offers access to a free Outplacement guide, career coaching, career cafes and an online career management service.

Free Outplacement Guide

The free Outplacement Guide is available online at www.retailtrust.org.uk or via the Retail Trust Helpline on 0808 801 0808.

It includes practical information on career planning, job applications and networking - as well as profiles of real retail careers and of the leading employers in the sector.

Career Cafes - Helping people in retail to restart their careers

Retail Trust is running half-day career cafes in the London area. The career cafes are free to anyone who has worked in retail from supervisory to middle management levels for two years or more and whose job has recently been made redundant.

Forthcoming Career Cafe events:

2nd April 2009: "Networking for Career Change" with Andy Lopata

Recently called "Mr. Network" by The Sun, Andy Lopata is the co-author of two books and an audio CD, the UK Bureau Chief for the US magazine 'The National Networker' and a regular columnist in Business Matters magazine.

Forget job boards and speculative applications. The people you know are your best route to the job that you want. At this career cafe, you will learn about the principles of effective networking from one of the most expert practitioners in the United Kingdom - finding out how to be a great networker, make a successful contribution and get the results you want.

You will also have the opportunity to talk to Retail Trust career coaches and helpline advisors about creating a brilliant CV, preparing for job interviews and dealing with the personal and financial consequences of redundancy.

Call the Retail Trust Helpline - 0808 801 0808 - to book your place on 2nd April or at one of the other forthcoming career cafes:

7th May 2009: "Preparing for Interviews and Assessment Centres" with Erica Wilding from recruitment experts Norman Broadbent

4th June 2009: "Being a Round Peg in a Round Hole" with executive coach and former retail industry director Andy King

Free: Career coaching for retail managers facing redundancy

Three one-hour telephone coaching sessions with professional coaches, worth over £300, are being provided free as part of the ReWork programme. Your free coaching is arranged through the Retail Trust helpline - 0808 801 0808. To qualify for free coaching, you will need to have worked in retail at a supervisory or middle management level for two years or more and have recently been made redundant.

Your coach can help you to work through your career options, prepare your CV and get ready for interviews. Coaching can also help you deal with the sorts of personal and practical problems that often crop up relating to redundancy and re-employment.

Professional coaching is recognised as one of the most effective routes that anyone can take to help resolve pressing work-related problems and define the steps they need to achieve their career and personal objectives. Your career coach will be skilled in supporting and challenging you as you work through ideas - they are good at helping you to define the things that will most help yourself.

Online Career Management Service

As part of Retail Trust's ReWork programme you can access a free* online career management service which aims to provide you with all you need in one place for that all important job search.

This service can:

• Write and tailor your CV for you
• Help you write interview winning cover letters
• Search 4500+ job sites, companies and recruiters
• Manage your job search, meetings and contacts
• Send you email reminders of interviews and deadlines
• Let you search for a new role confidentially

In conjunction with ACSOL, Retail Trust is offering your first month's service completely free of charge*. Call the Retail Trust Helpline on 0808 801 0808 for more information and find out how you can avail of this exclusive offer.

*First month is free - funded by Retail Trust - to subscribers who sign up for three months (at a cost of £12 per month). Subscribers who continue with service after this introductory period will be offered a reduced rate of £10 per month.

Retail Trust at The Retail Conference Retail Trust has been a supporter of The Retail Conference since 2008 (see www.retailconference.co.uk) and on 23rd September, Nigel J L Rothband, Chief Executive of Retail Trust, will be speaking at this year's Conference. A regular spokesman in the media, Nigel is also a founder member of The Professional Speakers Association and a member of the Institute of Directors.

Retail Acumen supports the 'Make Your Mark in Retail' campaign which is a national project that gives an entrepreneur who has an idea for a product or service the chance to trade for free within a retail environment.

The main aim of this project is to encourage people to take their ideas and make them happen, by being able to experience the concept of starting or growing their own business, with minimal financial cost to the individual.

For more information on the Make Your Mark In Retail Campaign please follow the link below.

In addition to the retail campaign Clare Rayner, Founder and Managing Director of Retail Acumen (formerly known as ARC Retail) has been a 'Make Your Mark in Retail Ambassador' since 2007 and a 'Girls! Make Your Mark Ambassador' since 2008. The role of the ambassador is to act as a role model and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs. She shares this role alongside well known and successful women in business and in the arts, including Sarah Beeny, Jacqueline Gold, Ruth Badger and Tamzin Outhwaite.

Retail Acumen, as the organiser and headline sponsor of The Retail Conference, have appointed West Herts College, a Skillset media academy partner, to film the event in September 2009.

The Film and Digital Media Exchange (FDMX) at West Herts College supports graduates from the media production courses as they begin their careers in the industry. Acting as a production company, and forging links with outside organisations on their behalf, West Herts works with teams of young people by helping with kit, facilities, and expertise, whilst allowing the graduates to develop their skills and creativity.

Production budgets are very favourable, and businesses are rewarded with high quality, cost effective productions.

Retail Acumen, FDMX and West Herts College are really looking forward to working together on this project, and as a result of this contact Retail Acumen are also in discussion with other parts of the college regarding offering work experience placements for students and providing guest speakers for some of their course lectures.

Retail Acumen believe that supporting the local college in this way will benefit the community and the area. We are happy to share our experiences with any other organisation considering offering similar opportunities for local students.