Edinburgh College collaborates with Fashion Retail Academy 

A highly sought-after London Fashion Retail Academy (@FRALondon) course is coming to Scotland for the first time through an exclusive partnership with Edinburgh College and St James Quarter. 

Funding from St James Quarter has enabled the College to work exclusively with Fashion Retail Academy to develop the brand-new programme – starting on 25 January – to jump start Scottish students with a passion for fashion into the world of retail.

The unique Retail Fashion, Marketing and Branding course, delivered by Edinburgh College,  will incorporate a range of topics including fashion retailing, branding and marketing, satisfying customer needs and digital retailing – offering students a course with unparalleled industry involvement to ensure students gain the skills and contacts needed to successfully progress to employment.

Working closely with over 140 fashion brands, the partnership is bringing the course to Edinburgh College – the first time the London based retail education specialist has ventured outside of London in its 15 years of existence.

For the first time ever, the Fashion Retail Academy will provide expert resources, that have been developed over the past 15 years, to Edinburgh College students as part of a long term plan to enhance Edinburgh’s talent pipeline for retail roles – both for within St James Quarter and beyond.

The course will have a specific focus on the best ways to meet the needs of retailers, drawing on the most up-to-date research on the retail workforce and accounting for the acceleration of current trends brought about by the pandemic.

Once completed, all students will achieve a SCQF Level 5 qualification in Retail Fashion, Branding and Marketing and will be supported by St James Quarter in helping to find work within the retail industry.

Audrey Cumberford, Edinburgh College Principal, said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Fashion Retail Academy, and the St James Quarter, to offer people in the region an opportunity to develop their careers in fashion and retail through world-class training.

“Working with the Fashion Retail Academy to deliver the Certificate in Retail Fashion, Branding and Marketing course enables us to combine the knowledge and expertise of our lecturers with the FRA’s retail education specialists – providing students with the skills they need to succeed, and retailers with a highly-skilled, talented workforce.

“We are excited to be the first Scottish College to collaborate with the FRA in this way and we are looking forward to developing the partnership further to create a talent pipeline which will provide world-class customer service to the people of Edinburgh.”

Rochelle Burgess, Marketing Director at St James Quarter, said:

“This partnership has been years in the making and we’re delighted to finally bring this course to life and to Edinburgh for the first time. With all the amazing brands coming to St James Quarter, there’s lots of amazing employment opportunities coming too – this is an incredible way to support our local graduates, nurture local talent and bring a globally recognised curriculum to our city.

“After a very challenging year, one of our key focuses is to boost the Scottish retail industry and help the next generation receive the opportunities and support they need to work within it.

“Partnering with Edinburgh College and Fashion Retail Academy is a very exciting project for us and we’re looking forward to seeing how the students develop throughout the duration of the course.”

Amanda Colvin, Director of Marketing & Sales, Fashion Retail Academy, said:

 “This exciting opportunity to partner with Edinburgh College has given FRA the ability to extend its reach and support more young people who want to start a career in fashion retail, at the same time as providing the industry and St James Quarter with entry level talent who can hit the ground running on graduation.  We hope this is the start of a long & successful collaboration, bringing a range of specialist fashion courses to Edinburgh. “