August 31, 2004

"TREF Awarded Major TWC Grant for Retail Workforce Development!"

The Texas Retailers Education Foundation will train, certify and provide scholarships to 250 high school students across the state of Texas for the 2004-2005 school year thanks to a grant from Texas Workforce Commission. School Districts participating are Arlington ISD, Austin ISD, Clear Creek ISD, Houston ISD, McAllen ISD, Eanes ISD and San Marcos ISD.

WHAT IS TREF DOING FOR OUR SCHOOLS?

Texas Retailers Education Foundation will provide on-line curriculum for teachers and students. Students with retail-oriented jobs who complete the curriculum will qualify for the Foundation to pay for students’ testing for the National Professional Certification in Customer Service. Texas senior students passing the assessment test will receive a $1000 scholarship to apply to their college education.

WHAT IS TREF DOING FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Community relations and workforce development on many levels are important to the quality of future retail employees. “Our College Interns are an integral part of the Foundations success to date,” states TREF Executive Director Theresia Intag. College Interns participate in training high school students, organizing seminars of retail industry experts, and sharing their college experiences with high school students. “We hope to create a bridge between high school and college through our Interns face-to-face interaction with the high school students,” added Intag. “High school students start to think, ‘If they can do it, so can I.’’

HOW DID WE GET STARTED?

Texas Retailers Education Foundation was established in 2001 by Texas Retailers Association to provide Texas students with portable job skills in customer service, expand knowledge of retail career opportunities, and offer a means for working students to better afford to pay for college classes. Texas Retailers Education Foundation is having great success with their programs thanks to partnerships with Retail Employers Link to Education (RELE), the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas universities, and the National Retail Federation Foundation.

EDUCATION NEWS

Fall 2007

Retail Human Resource Workshop

May 9, 2007

Annual Golf Scholarship Fundraiser! Battlefield Golf Course in Houston, Texas. To register, send an email to info@tref.info, or register on-line at www.txretailers.org.

January 1, 2007

Summer Internship available for college students. Apply to info@tref.info.

May 10, 2006

Organized Retail Theft Conference to be held in Houston. - Click Here for more.

February 1, 2006

Retailers Donate $250,000 to College for all Texans Foundation to aid graduating seniors. - Click Here for more.