Planning a garden needs attention to 'retail'

Mark Williams, Duncan Harter, Mary O'Neil, Tim Feenan, Paula Forbes; From left to right front row: Suzanne Kent, Michelle Dunn, Rachel Morris, Jane Galasso

Students were given the chance to put their new retail skills into action when they were tasked with the challenge to plan a garden.

The students are all currently studying Level 1 Retail Knowledge. The course, set up by Hopwood Hall College’s training arm, Training @ Hopwood, gives local unemployed people new skills to help them into employment. As part of the course, the students learn about customer service, the retail selling process, teamwork and other aspects such as health and safety – all the skills they will need to get into the retail industry.

Having heard about what the students were doing, the team at All in One Garden Centre, Middleton, were keen to help the students put their skills into practice. They invited the students along to the garden centre to see what working in a retail setting was like.

During their visit, they were given the job of creating one of three garden projects – a herb garden, a rockery or a vegetable patch. The students then had to work out what items they would need to include in their gardens, working to a budget, before outlining their plans, including how long it would take to complete the project, to staff from the Centre.

All the students enjoyed the experience and commented on how it helped them to understand more about the retail world and what fun it was to work on the projects