Dive Brief:

• The National Grocers Association has launched an improved career center called the NGA Foundation Career Center, according to a press release.
• The center will connect job seekers with employers and provide training resources like complimentary resume review, in-person training opportunities, anonymous resume posting and new job alerts.
• The career center also provides access to over 170 NGA training courses on topics such as food safety, merchandising and management, and offers employers several ways to post and promote job openings. 

Dive Insight:

The new career center is a one-stop hub for grocery industry professionals who want to work with independent grocery companies, from customer service representatives to managers and every role in between. The grocery industry as a whole is a major employer with over 2.6 million employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

For those who want to establish a career in grocery, independent companies are a promising route. The stores tend to operate without a strict corporate structure in place, meaning independents could offer career hopefuls room to learn more, take on additional responsibility and grow with the business. NGA's goal is to make recruitment and employee retention stronger for independent organizations with this new resource.

The addition of training to NGA's new career center is an advantage for both job seekers and employers. About 70% of retail employers said they find it difficult to hire applicants who have the right technical experience, while 82% said it's hard to find employees with the right cross-functional experience, according to a retail survey from Indeed. As the grocery store becomes increasingly tech-focused and retailers make more moves to integrate digital and in-store channels, applicants and employees may need more resources to enhance their skill sets. 

With a mean hourly wage of $13.20 among grocery store employees and dissatisfaction with some employers, workers are keeping their eyes open for new opportunities that offer better pay. NGA's site has new tools to help employers reach "passive" job-seekers who don't visit job boards, and allows people to post their resumes anonymously so they can control which companies can see their resumes.