Viewpoints

Supervisors carry a heavy burden of responsibility. They regularly take the blame for employees’ lack of job satisfaction, excessive sick leave, premature retirement and the like. No wonder supervisors, in particular those who are just starting out, want and need training to support them.

For a long time, it has been possible in the trading sector to take a specialist vocational quali-fication for storee supervisors. However, this qualification is too demanding for people who are at the beginning of their supervisory careers and for supervisors of small teams, for example. The field of trade is the largest employer in the private sector, and a very high number of people work in immediate supervisor duties in this field. This is why a trial training programme for work supervision launched by the Ministry of Education in which the trading sector is participating has been welcomed enthusiastically. The training has been offered in six educational establishments in different parts of Finland.

The trading sector employs many people under the age of 30. Young people consider good supervisory work to be one of the most important factors related to work, while a high salary and career progress opportunities are less important. Young people use social media to assess working in different fields and companies. A bad reputation will spread far and wide and is hard to get rid of. Therefore, it is important that supervisors receive support and training in their demanding people management tasks.

Although the trial is still in progress, the time for resolutions is drawing near. On the basis of feedback received from employees who have participated in the training and their employers, the trial has been a success and there are hopes that the new course will be included in the qualification structure.

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