Spotlight on Talent – Rachel Hurst

Studied: Level 1 Retail
Progression: Retail assistant at Haribo

Rachel Hurst is enjoying a portfolio career after completing a pre-employment training programme through Walsall College.  Her working week now consists of one role as a dog trainer and another as a retail assistant at Haribo.

The decision to have two different jobs came about in response to the Covid pandemic.  When lockdown began, Rachel had to put her delivery of private dog training sessions temporarily on hold.

She has been providing these sessions for almost a year professionally, although has offered these throughout her life to the pets of her family and friends.

In a bid to maintain her income, Rachel signed up for Walsall College’s retail employability programme.  The two-week course has been developed in partnership with McArthurGlen.  It includes the opportunity to apply for roles at the newly-opened West Midlands Designer Outlet in Cannock.

When scanning through the outlet’s vacancies during her training, one particular position stood out.

“I’d worked in a sweet shop when I was 17 and loved it,” said Rachel.  “Working at Haribo is a dream opportunity.”

She added: “A lot of my qualifications so far have related to dog training and working with various animals, so it’s nice to have something that recognises my knowledge and experience of the retail sector too.”

“The course also taught me new things such as terminology within the retail industry, shift patterns and even more about customer service and branding.

“I really like the idea of having two different jobs going forward and seeing how things unfold.”