28 May 2024: A Mini Woolies has opened at TAFE NSW’s Port Macquarie campus, with the learning space to support local students with disabilities as they gain job-ready skills. 

Thet site is the first on the mid-north coast of NSW for the Mini Woolies program, and the fourth with TAFE NSW in a vocational education and training (VET) facility. 

Rather than a fully operational store, a converted classroom has been set up to simulate the operations of an actual Woolworths supermarket, with baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, ticketing, signage and Woolworths branded uniforms, as well as two registers. 

The site will serve as an accessible and safe learning space for dozens of local students currently completing nationally recognised units from Certificate II in Retail. Students will use the space to practise checkout processes, receiving and handling stock, and communicating with customers. 

Local Woolworths store manager Jenny has been visiting the site in recent weeks with the team from Port Macquarie to teach students and staff how to use the registers. 

“We’ve had a lot of team members who were excited to visit the local campus and help put the final touches on the brand new Mini Woolies site,” Jenny said.

“The students got the hang of things very quickly, and it all came together in the last few days with the delivery of groceries. It really does look and feel like a supermarket experience, a place for them to get hands-on experience for their studies.” 

TAFE NSW Director Supply Chain and eCommerce Mark Primmer said, "The Mini Woolies at our TAFE NSW Port Macquarie campus will offer more people with disabilities the opportunity to explore retail career pathways and gain job-ready skills for the workplace.

"Retail services is an industry where skilled workers are in high demand. These new state-of-the-art facilities will enable students to gain real-world practical skills using the latest industry-standard equipment, helping to engage students in meaningful employment.”

The new Mini Woolies at TAFE NSW’s Port Macquarie campus joins over 60 sites across Australia and New Zealand. In partnership with Fujitsu, the Woolworths program recently marked six years since its inception. 

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