Success stories in education are not just about students, sometimes it’s the degree itself that grabs the headlines. Take, for example, Dreams’ Foundation Degree in Retail Management at Bucks New University.

 

The first Dreams’ students graduated from the Foundation Degree in Retail Management on 10 September, and the course has proven to be a real triumph.

“It is a great success for us,” says Suzanne Taylor, Resources Director of Dreams, Britain’s leading bed specialist. “We are hugely committed to developing and retaining our talented staff, so we approached Buckinghamshire New University with the idea to design a bespoke retail-based degree that would offer a structured path of development for our enthusiastic and ambitious staff.”

 

“We fast-tracked the first group of students, all managers at Dreams, to complete the course in one year. This required a huge commitment on the part of the students, Dreams and the University. These successful graduates are already involved in a wide range of projects across the business.”

 

Nick Worthington, CEO of Dreams, had this to say: “Investing in our people is key to the continued success of this business. They are, after all, our most valuable asset. Our first graduates have all proved themselves to be excellent ambassadors for the foundation degree and great role models.”

 

The creation of this two-year degree serves as an excellent case study for other retailers who have an appetite to offer this type of personal development, but are unsure how to integrate it into their business.

 

Lorraine Watkins-Mathys, Head of the School of Business & Management at Bucks New University, concludes: “Working with Dreams has been brilliant – we have learned a lot from each other and worked together on issues that are relevant to the retail industry in general, but also very specific to Dreams.”