As retail moves at speed into a new era of technology and progress, we want to make sure that every team member has the opportunity to ride the wave of the future.

Around the globe, retail is changing at the fastest pace we’ve seen in many decades. Technological advances in automation, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are driving our industry forward and helping us do a better job of meeting our customers’ changing needs. 

But these changes are impacting the fundamental nature of the work our team does each day. We recognise that our size and scale as an employer comes with responsibility to lead on issues like the future of work. Our team is critical to our success, and while we want to lead the transition to new ways of working, we are equally committed to leaving no team member behind. 

In February 2021, we announced plans to invest $50 million over the next three years to help equip our team with new skills and capabilities for the retail industry of the future. The Woolworths Future of Work Fund will help upskill, reskill and redeploy team members impacted by industry disruption and technological change. The Fund will also underpin the launch of an online learning platform to allow team members to easily access training, apprenticeship and mentoring support across Australia. It will support training for more than 60,000 team members in our store and e‑commerce operations, supply chain network and support offices.