Retail & Trading Apprentice

Retail & Trading Apprentice– Studying Retailer Level 2 Apprenticeship

UK Government Apprenticeship salary scale

Assessment Day to be held at the hospice in Pease pottage on 28 or 30 September 2026 (Please note these are the only dates available)

Closing date 18 September 2026: Please note that this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Looking for your first step into retail? Excited about sustainability and giving fashion a second life? We have an exciting opportunity for 16 – 18 years olds with no experience necessary, to gain real work experience across a dynamic trading team, developing the skills needed for a future in Retail.

If you’re looking for a hands on role and motivated to support a sustainable organisation this is your chance to gain valuable experience while making a real contribution. We are looking for enthusiasm, a willingness and drive to learn, and a genuine interest in a customer focused career.

About Us:
St Catherine’s Hospice is a respected local charity providing specialist hospice care alongside statutory service partners (GPs, District nursing etc) across West Sussex and East Surrey.

We provide care in communities across Surrey and Sussex which are richly diverse and we want to reflect that in everything we do. We celebrate and support difference and welcome applications from all backgrounds. If you believe in the importance of what we do, share our values and want to be a part of an outstanding team building something important, we’d love to hear from you.

We have twelve charity shops located across Surrey and Sussex, with a large Trading Team that all work hard to contribute to eco-friendly second hand shopping that helps raise vital funds for our Hospice.

The Role:
The Retail & Trading Apprentice is offered on a 20 month full time, fixed term basis. Working 37.5 hours per week, this will include your apprenticeship study time.

As the Retail & Trading Apprentice, you’ll work towards your Level 2 qualification while gaining valuable, real-world experience. You’ll play an active role supporting across a variety of our shops, meeting new people. developing customer service skills and operational awareness of running charity shops.

About You:
Are you looking to start your career in Retail or a customer focused environment, whilst working towards a recognised qualification? Then join our team as a Retail & Trading Apprentice and begin an exciting journey developing your skills to communicate and build valuable relationships and promote sustainable shopping.

This development role is designed to build your skills, knowledge, and confidence, enabling you to provide efficient and effective day-to-day support, contributing with new ideas, collaboration and energy and enthusiasm to learn.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Learning effective communication and customer focused skilled
• Operational skills to run and manage various shop locations
• Strategic insight into stock management, dynamic pricing and costs
• Working across a variety of locations

What You’ll Gain:

• A nationally recognised Level 2 qualification
• Practical, hands on experience across a dynamic Trading Team
• Insight into working with a range of staff, volunteers and meeting customers
• Structured learning combined with on-the-job training

Our Shop Locations:

• Billingshurst, Crawley, Caterham, Dorking, East Grinstead, Hassocks, Haywards Heath, Horley, Horsham, Oxted, Redhill, Reigate

Employees at St Catherine’s Hospice can enjoy a variety of benefits including:

• Generous annual leave starting at 25 days, rising to 30 days with length of service, plus Bank Holidays, and an opportunity to buy / sell annual leave days. Plus we offer a day off for volunteering & moving house.
• Generous Pension scheme with up to 9% employer contributions or honour of NHS pension.
• Life Assurance Scheme, Counselling Offering, and a range of discounts.

How to Apply:
If you join St Catherine’s, you’ll be joining a supportive team all working towards a big ambition: a future where everyone approaching death and those who love and care for them can access compassionate, specialist palliative and end of live care. If that sounds like something you’d find fulfilling, please apply today.

Along with submitting your CV, we would love you to write a covering letter to give us a better understanding of what interests you in this apprenticeship and what strengths and qualities you would bring to St Catherine’s Hospice and the team? You can use examples from school, college, or personal experiences.

Please upload your covering letter and CV or the St Catherine’s Hospice application form where it asks you to upload your application form, (there is no need to complete both CV & Application form). If you need a copy of the application form, this can be found here.

For a full job description, please click here.

If you need help applying for this apprenticeship, please contact our HR team who will be very happy to help you on 01293 447353.

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone and we are proud to be a Disability Confident Level 3 Employer, committed to creating an inclusive, supportive workplace. if you need any help completing your application form please contact our HR team.

Terms & Conditions:

• Please ensure you have read our employee and recruitment privacy statement prior to applying for this role.
• Please note a requirement of all roles at St Catherine’s is to complete mandatory E-learning training and remain compliant with this throughout your employment.
• Authorised to work in the United Kingdom, please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorships.

We are located in Grace Holland Avenue, Pease Pottage, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 9SL. You can access the Hospice by car, bus, bike or walking, with full transport details on our website.

If you require any additional information or would like to discuss this role further, please email jobs@stch.org.uk or give us a call on 01293 447353.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.