About 300 people in  Central Minnesota will have a chance to get trained for a job in retail, thanks to a grant by the Walmart Foundation.

 

Last week, about 50 stakeholders gathered at the Workforce Center in Monticello to show their appreciation for the grant and talk about the importance of retail opportunities in Minnesota.

The $10.9 million grant was dispersed at 10 locations in the U.S. The Central Minnesota Workforce, which covers an 11-county area, will get $300,000 of that amount over two years to offer job training, conduct hiring events, provide resume review and secure retail jobs,

 

“It will help job seekers in Central Minnesota to gain the skills, training and education they need to be successful in their careers,” said John Welling, VP and Regional General Manger for Walmart. 

 

“We will also collaborate with the other nine Workforce boards that received grant money to establish best practices and create new models that can be shared and updated by the Workforce boards across the country.”

 

Welling said one in four workers in the country are in retail, which equates to 42 million in the U.S.

 

Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, works with about 1,200 retailers across the state.

 

He said retail affects many other occupations -not only the retail workers, but people in transportation, warehousing and even those who build the roads to transport goods. 

 

“Retail impacts the lives of one in five Minnesotans,” he said. “Eight of 10 Minnesotans’ first job was in retail.”

 

Nustad said there is a misperception about retail jobs.

 

“People think they’re dead-end jobs where people are going nowhere, they don’t make enough money and the employer is taking advantage of their workers,” he said. “In my interaction with retail employees across the state, that cannot be further from the truth.”

 

He said people work in retail for a number of reasons. For some it’s their first job and they have little training. Others make it their career. For older workers, it might be a job they take after they retire.

 

Cameron Macht, regional analyst and outreach manager with the Minnesota Dept. of  and Employment and Economic Development, (DEED), said more and more seniors are taking retail positions as the age groups in retail are shifting.

 

In 2000, 30.1% of the retail workforce was 14-21 years old. People 55 and over were 13.2% of the retail workforce.

 

In 2015, senior workers made up 22.9% of the retail workforce while the percentage of 14-21 year olds decreased to 20.9%.

 

Macht said the retail trade has a severe shortage of workers.

 

“In the last round of job vacancy survey data, retail recorded the highest number they have ever reported in the State of Minnesota and in Central MN,” said Macht. “Retail trade typically has 10-15% of total openings. In 2015, that number was 22.5%.”

 

Macht said the shortage is partly because the median wage for retail employees in Minnesota is $10.43 per hour, compared to $12.62 for all workers.

 

“But we are starting to see movement in that some of them are offering higher wages, and a higher percentage of retailers are offering healthcare benefits,” he said.

 

Retail trade comprises 10.6% of total employment in the state (293,526 jobs). Region 7W, which includes Sherburne, Wright, Stearns and Benton counties, has 22,794 retail jobs, or 13.6% of the total.

 

Macht said many retail workers are getting more education as technology changes the way people work. 

 

“A lot of opportunities in retail require a higher education,” he said. “And obviously, the more education, the higher the wages.”

 

And as those jobs evolve, there are different skills that workers need to learn to be successful. Macht said employers are looking for people who have the knowledge and skills to perform, like sales and marketing, customer service, mathematics, active listening, persuasion, negotiation, dependability, cooperation, self control and attention to detail.

 

He said the grant from the Walmart Foundation will help people get the training they need for opportunities in retail.

 

The Workforce Center in Monticello is hosting a Retail Career Expo and Hiring Event Wednesday (Sept. 21) from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.

 

The event will include retail employers seeking workers, and information on career options and training for advancement.

 

The Workforce Center is located a 406 East 7th Street in Monticello.