The sales pitch is just beginning. Canada's retail sector, a powerhouse that employs nearly two million people across the country and represents the nation's third-largest labour force, is rolling out a shopping list that includes a strong need for skilled managerial personnel in addition to frontline sales staff.

In B.C. and Alberta, the retail sector makes up the largest segment of each province's labour force, employing 258,300 and 205,100 people, respectively, according to the Retail Council of Canada (RCC). In Ontario, the number is 748,800 - representing that province's second-largest pool of employees.

Gone are the days when retail was considered solely as a transitory job.

With today's Canadian retail sector facing stiffer competition from American giants such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, and foreign retailers that include Spain's Zara and Sweden's H&M - both fashion merchants - retail is shaping up as a new career path.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
Barry Hogan, left, and David Jang see a bright future for Canadian graduates in the retail sector.

"The age of consumerism is upon us, and retail has become much more sophisticated," said Barry Hogan, associate dean of marketing management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). "Retailing is sexy and you can win or lose customers by how you present yourselves."

Initially, there wasn't a big demand for post-secondary education credentials in the retail sector, said Hogan. "People worked their way up off the floor. There wasn't the emphasis on degrees and diplomas as there were in other sectors."

A more crowded retail marketplace combined with globalization, however, has changed that picture.

"The huge retailers from the U.S., Europe and Asia - those guys have their acts together. Today, retail is much more complicated," added Hogan, noting that skilled staff and managers are critical if Canadian retailers are to succeed.

It was that message, also voiced by the retailers themselves, that led BCIT to introduce one of Canada's newest retail marketing-management programs. But even with BCIT's entry last year, Canadians seeking higher educational credentials for a retail career face limited choices.

While Edmonton's Canadian Institute of Retailing and Services (CIRAS), operating out of the University of Alberta, first offered a bachelor of commerce degree with a specialization in retailing and services in 1991, the only other major choice was Ontario's Ryerson School of Retail Management, which took in its first students in 1998.

"Retailers were asking how do they attract and train their employees. They would say, 'I have a place to send the accountant, but I have no way to train the retail staff,' " said Hogan. "The program was built through a number of committees that included national and regional chains and single storefront operators, and they were very consistent in what objectives they had for this program. We had 20 people telling us essentially the same thing: They need to increase the skill level of their employees and to demonstrate that there is a career path in retail where people can advance into managerial and executive positions."

Those managerial positions, meanwhile, can come with high salaries. Managers at major big-box retailers are making in excess of $100,000 a year, said CIRAS executive director Paul McElhone. "It's hard work. There are extended hours of work at all levels of retail, but for those who are dynamic and love people, it is a great career path."

Companies such as Staples and Rogers Communications Inc. are just two examples of businesses that are actively pursuing students who complete the retail-oriented management training programs, said McElhone.

Edmonton, which seemed an unlikely place to take the lead in retail education, was a logical choice, according to McElhone. Known as the country's retail playground and home to the largest indoor shopping centre - West Edmonton Mall - Edmonton has a strong retail heritage that has spawned companies such as The Brick, Fountain Tire, Running Room and the Henry Singer Fashion Group, among others. Its thriving retail market is further supported by high levels of disposable income and the lack of a provincial sales tax.

But while Edmontonians may love to shop until they drop, they aren't the only ones.

In B.C., figures from the province's Ministry of Advanced Education reveal that at least 97,000 retail jobs will be created by 2011, said Hogan. "They had identified the retail sector as the sector creating the most jobs over the next seven years," he said, referring to figures that also take into account jobs created in 2004.

To meet that heavy demand and to fill a market void, BCIT partnered with Canada's second-largest mall, Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby.

The first post-secondary retail education program of its kind in B.C., this retail management marketing offering will directly address the B.C. retail sector's need for skilled employees seeking to launch their careers at the management level.

Starting with its associate certificate in retail management marketing, BCIT plans to add a management certificate in September, a diploma as of September 2006 and a bachelor's degree by September 2007.

Metropolis at Metrotown, an Ivanhoe Cambridge operation, has committed to a five-year founding sponsorship. The centre will assume a leadership role as an adviser and co- promoter of the program and will actively assist in finding student and graduate practicum and employment placements.

"In 2002, we started exploring the concept of retail education," said David Jang, Metropolis at Metrotown's public and community relations manager. "We heard from our retailers that there was a growing need for skilled leadership management positions at the store, regional or head office level. Traditionally, retail was a default career people did en route to what they really wanted to do."

When the program was created, Jang said, a second market was quickly identified. That resulted in the creation of Retail Works, which the mall offers to prepare people for frontline sales positions.

Retail Works has been so successful that Ivanhoe Cambridge is looking to roll it out this year to properties it runs in Calgary, Edmonton, Nanaimo, Vancouver and Victoria, said Jang.

But while retail is hot in B.C., nationwide sales figure are predicted to show that 2004 was a strong year across the board.

Last year's numbers are not yet available, though they're expected to surpass the $330 billion in sales rung up across Canada in 2003, said Andrew Siegwart, RCC's director of education.

"Anecdotally, from what we have heard on our member surveys, no one is saying that they're not hiring. We've had a lot of new entrants in Canada from the early 1990s - Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Old Navy. Competition is growing. The sector is not shrinking, so there is a demand for employees," said Siegwart. That demand is also reflected in growing numbers for Ryerson's bachelor of commerce in retail management.

"It's been extremely popular. Each year the school brings in about 100 students, and that has grown from the 60 or so we brought in the first few years," said Elizabeth Evans, director of the school of retail management, who adds that those numbers do not include those taking part-time studies or individual courses.

"Because the school is still relatively new, there is a need to create and cultivate more awareness that this degree exists and what this will afford students in terms of career," said Evans, who noted that graduating students have been hired by major retailers such as The Bay, Sears, Loblaw Companies, Winners, and companies such as Cadillac Fairview and Ivanhoe Cambridge.

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)