Retail 1 H2

CHARITY RETAIL

We have acted as training providers in Volunteer Management and Recruiting Shop Volunteers to the Charity Retail Association.  We also deliver "in-house" courses across the UK for small, medium and large sized charity retail operations

Charity Retail Association

We have been engaged by the Charity Retail Association to deliver training to its members and to act as judge in their Annual Retail Awards (Volunteer of the Year category). 

“Matthew is an absolute pleasure to work with.  Since 2015 Matthew has delivered training to over 300 people for the Charity Retail Association on the Recruiting Shop Volunteers course.  The course and Matthew consistently evaluate extremely highly and attendees come away with lots of ideas and strategies to implement in their workplace. We would definitely recommend using Matthew’s services.”

From 329 delegates (charities ranging from 0 to 500 shops)

96.6% of delegates rated the trainer as Excellent/Good

98.4% of delegates felt that the training had given them information that would help them develop or improve their shop’s operations


                                     Julia Cloke  -  Head of Outreach, Charity Retail Association


Our Trainers:

Matthew Plumridge has worked in the not-for-profit and charitable sector for over 25 years from volunteer co-ordinator to project manager and Board member working with small, medium and large UK and international charities. He is a former Trustee of Volunteering England, Disability Initiative, Toc H and Positive Action (an HIV Charity).  

He has interviewed over 6,000 volunteers, managed two volunteer centres in Surrey and 2,500 volunteers on 60 + community projects throughout UK, Belgium and Germany (British Army on the Rhine - shops, clubs and mobile canteens).   He is Level 3 trained in Safeguarding (Child Protection and Adults at Risk) and has acted as Safeguarding Lead for two charities.


Susie Nicholson (RGN, Cert Ed), has worked in the Clinical and Not for Profit sector, (initially as a nurse) fulfilling various managerial roles. She is currently a trainer to Charitable Organisations, Nursing & Care Agencies and Healthcare Companies in First Aid, Moving & Handling (Back Care), Infection Control, Risk Assessments and various other health related topics.


We offer
  • In-house 'face to face' training
  • Online training 'Live' (using Zoom)
  • Webinar sessions
  • Open Courses (using Zoom - where you can book an individual place)

Current Prospectus

Retail 2b

Managing Shop Volunteers

This one-day course explores how to manage shop volunteers and associated issues within a trading environment, which can be time consuming, and costly.  It is designed to cover key elements of volunteer management (including retention) and is for those who manage, supervise or co-ordinate volunteers.
Retail 3a

Recruiting Shop Volunteers

This one-day course identifies the key elements of how to attract and recruit appropriate volunteers, especially mid to long-term regular 'committed' volunteers.
Shop 38 (2) (cropped)

Retail Safeguarding

This one-day course aims to raise awareness of safeguarding issues in a retail environment, highlighting an organisation’s responsibilities and duty of care to staff, volunteers and public, plus possible responses to an incident.  It is designed for managers, deputy managers, lead volunteers or anyone with responsibility in or for a retail environment.
IMG_20191121_122936_resized_20191124_105748069 (4) (cropped)

Safeguarding for Senior Managers (Retail)

This one-day course aims to raise awareness of safeguarding issues in a charity retail environment, and an organisation’s responsibilities and duty of care to staff, volunteers and public, in response to an incident.  It is aimed specifically at Trustees, Senior Managers, Safeguarding Leads and 'Champions' within an organisation. 
Mental Health 1

Mental Health Awareness

This half-day course is designed as an introduction to mental health to enable participants to understand and recognise common issues and their effects.  It is designed for management, staff or volunteers, as it demonstrates how to promote a better understanding for a healthy, non-discriminatory environment, alleviating unnecessary related stress for all concerned.

Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave.  Anxiety and depression are the most common.  These are often a reaction to a difficult life event, such as bereavement, but they can also be caused by work-related issues.
Retail 4b

Customer Service

This one-day course explores key elements of customer service and its importance to the overall customer experience and to the organisation in respect of its reputation, wider community benefit and long-term survival
Retail 5a

Lone Working (Personal Safety)

This half-day course supports participants in developing, maintaining or reviewing lone working (personal safety) procedures and practices in their work environment.  This is achieved by highlighting personal and Organisational responsibilities, as detailed under relevant legislation, and by raising their awareness of the issues surrounding lone working including potential risks associated with their individual job role. 
Retail 6a

Food Hygiene

This half-day course explores practical ways of maintaining good food hygiene and safety for those working in a food environment, or for charities and voluntary organisations who provide food to the public, their clients, staff and volunteers.
Retail 7a

Fire Safety

This half-day course looking at fire safety explores what to do in the event of a fire.  The course is designed to give more of a general overview linking into your fire safety policy / procedures and is aimed at all staff, particularly new employees / volunteers in the workplace.  This is not fire extinguisher training.
Retail 8a

Manual Handling (Objects)

This course aims to raise the levels of good practice in manual handling to reduce potential risks of back injuries and accidents.  It is designed for staff, volunteers, supervisors and managers working in charity retail.
Good balance of trainer imparting knowledge and group discussion.  A lot of content covered in the time given

- Head of Retail

 Fantastic.  Really enjoyed the course and would like to work with you regarding our manager's training

- Head of Retail 

It was really refreshing to have a trainer that understands our business

- Area Manager

I recently attending a Retail Volunteer training day in Birmingham.  By far one of the best training days I have been to ??" fantastic!.

           - Volunteer Co-Ordinator

I have thoroughly enjoyed today and learnt a lot.   I've been on many courses of this sort but found this to be the most interesting and informative.  

            - Shop Manager

Thank you for giving me the confidence to now go and do my job

- Shop Manager

The trainer was very engaging, good use of humour, a people person and loads of energy throughout the day

- Course participant

Our trainers come from a variety of backgrounds, therefore we can facilitate courses beyond our current prospectus.

For all enquiries, do please call us on:  01483 564099 or 07866 284781

We take our responsibility to the environment very seriously


Click here to find out how we reduce our impact on the environment
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