NRF retail credential offers Big Lots workers a path back to jobs

A short credential with a practical payoff

Retail work often looks simple from the outside: ring up sales, stock shelves, answer questions, keep the line moving. The NRF Foundation’s Retail Industry Fundamentals credential treats those tasks as the start of something bigger, giving new and returning workers a fast way to build retail fluency and show they are serious about the work. For Big Lots employees and former employees, that matters because the skills learned on the floor can carry into future shifts, future stores and future jobs.

The course is built for people entering retail for the first time or trying to get back into the workforce. NRF Foundation says it is designed around workplace readiness, with real-world examples and interactive activities that cover the retail cycle, customer service, math for sales transactions, technology tools used in retail and interview practice. It is not an abstract badge for a résumé file. It is meant to help workers understand how the pieces of a store fit together, from the customer greeting to the transaction to the back-end systems that keep inventory and operations moving.

Why this matters at Big Lots

Big Lots is a clear example of why broad retail fluency has real value. In a May 4, 2024 SEC filing, the company said it operated 1,392 stores in 48 states and an e-commerce platform. That footprint shows how much store-level work depends on repeatable habits: customer service, time management, communication and product awareness. When a chain is under pressure, those basics become even more important because every shift has to run cleanly and every customer interaction matters.

The company later initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings on September 9, 2024. Court records show the cases were converted to Chapter 7 effective November 10, 2025, and Alfred T. Giuliano was appointed Chapter 7 trustee. For workers, that kind of corporate upheaval makes portable skills especially valuable. A credential that helps translate daily store work into language hiring managers recognize can make the difference between a résumé that lists tasks and one that shows readiness.

What the credential teaches on the floor

The Retail Industry Fundamentals course is built around practical store behavior, not classroom theory. It covers how retail works as a cycle, how to handle basic customer service, how to do the math behind sales transactions and how to use the technology tools common in stores. It also includes interview practice, which is useful for workers who may know the job but need help explaining that experience in a hiring process.

That matters at Big Lots because much of the job is about more than simply standing at a register or straightening aisles. Inventory basics, merchandising, product awareness and communication all affect whether a store feels organized and whether customers trust the team. The credential gives structure to those habits and helps workers understand why those routines are part of store operations, not just chores to get through the shift.

What the course can help you do

A worker who completes the credential should come away with a clearer grasp of the retail environment and a stronger way to talk about it. In practical terms, the training can help you:

• handle customer questions with more confidence
• understand how sales transactions work
• connect product movement to inventory needs
• use retail technology with less hesitation
• explain retail experience in a job interview
• show employers that you are ready to learn quickly

That combination is useful for someone starting out and just as useful for someone coming back after a gap in work. It turns everyday store experience into something more legible to a supervisor, a hiring manager or a future employer in another retail setting.

A credential with broad industry backing

The NRF Foundation says the Retail Industry Fundamentals curriculum was developed with over 30 retailers, including Walmart, Macy’s, The Home Depot, Burlington Stores, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Nordstrom. That matters because the training is not coming from a single company’s playbook. It reflects a broad view of what retail employers expect from frontline workers across different store formats and customer bases.

The scale of the program also suggests it is already part of the workforce pipeline. NRF Foundation says more than 60,000 students, 6,000 educators and 3,500 locations engage with the RISE Up curriculum each year. It also says more than 500,000 people have earned RISE Up credentials. For workers, that kind of reach makes the certificate more than a nice extra. It becomes a recognized signal that you understand the basics of how the business runs.

A fast way to show seriousness

One reason this credential fits so well for frontline workers is speed. NRF Foundation says the online course takes five to seven hours to complete. That is short enough to fit around job hunting, a reduced schedule or a return to work after time away, but substantial enough to cover the core parts of retail readiness. The format includes self-paced lessons, videos, interactive exercises and knowledge checks, which makes it practical for workers who need flexibility.

Students also receive a printable completion certificate, a digital badge and a credential they can list on a resume. Those details matter because many workers already have the experience but lack a clean way to present it. A completion certificate can help a candidate show initiative, while the digital badge and résumé-listed credential give supervisors and recruiters a quick way to verify that the training was completed.

Why it can help with the next step

At Big Lots, and in retail generally, the people who move up are often the ones who understand that the job is bigger than one task at one register or one aisle. A worker who can connect customer service to store flow, transactions to accuracy and inventory to operations is easier to trust with responsibility. That is where the NRF credential can pay off: it gives structure to the skills workers already use and helps them present those skills as part of a longer career path.

Retail remains one of the biggest engines in the American labor market. NRF says the industry supported 55 million full- and part-time jobs in 2022, accounting for 26% of total U.S. employment. It also says retail contributed $5.3 trillion to U.S. GDP and $3 trillion in labor income that year. Those numbers underscore the point behind the credential: retail is not a side road. For Big Lots workers trying to get back to work or move forward in it, a few hours of focused training can help turn everyday store knowledge into a stronger case for the next job.