The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) has partnered with Retail Council of Canada (RCC) to create the Certified Jewellery Retail Professional Program (CJRP)—the first-ever retail certification program for jewellery store managers and personnel.
The program, a self-directed online course, covers critical knowledge and skills, unique to the retail jewellery profession in Canada. Topics covered include operations, succession planning, sales, marketing, law, and legislation. A candidate can obtain certification by successfully completing an evaluation consisting of an exam and a performance interview. They must also have a year of on-the-job jewellery experience.
“It was exciting to develop this program jointly with Retail Council of Canada and provide our members with a training program that has never existed before for jewellers,” said Stephen Cole, board member of the CJA. “We know other countries are also looking to create similar programs and we are proud to be the first to address the specific issues of jewellers’ retail training needs.”
The program will be offered through Retail Council of Canada’s education division, Canadian Retail Institute.
