Employee Experiences and Perceptions of Training in the Retail Industry

Date
2022
Authors
Narayan, Swashni
Supervisor
Ravenswood, Katherine
Item type
Thesis
Degree name
Master of Business
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Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract

The purpose of this research is to find out “experiences and perceptions of training in the retail industry” in New Zealand. Training has become important for employees in any industry or workplace. It encourages the employees to upskill and gain confidence to build the knowledge required for efficiency and career development (Khan et al., 2011), and also aims to identify the training types, benefits, and opportunities the employees are getting in the retail supermarket. This thesis topic is derived from my personal experience of working in retail where I witnessed how important training and development are to the employees. This thesis used a qualitative methodology in a form of narrative inquiry to explore the participants’ experiences around their working life and their experience of training (Gray, 2018). Data was collected from eight participants aged 18 to 65, using in-depth semi-structured interviews. This research study aims to explore the experiences and perceptions of training that the employees encountered during their working lives, and what their perceptions are.

The main findings of this thesis were about what employees mostly experienced on-the-job training in the retail sector, specifically in supermarkets. Employees also experienced that jobs in retail are practical, and training gives more knowledge and builds skills in the industry.

There is limited research done on retiring employees and their perceptions. The findings of this thesis help to understand the type of employees getting trained and the issues that arise. The university students in this research were given little to no training and their perception was different from that in the academic research. Also, the findings give rise to future research opportunities related to the topic.

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