Careers:COURSES Available to Purchase

If Britain could ever truly be described as a nation of shopkeepers, then the ILEA's College for the Distributive Trades might accept it as a backhanded compliment. As the only specialist institution of its kind in the country it provides a high level of professional education in a sector of the economy which employs nearly 3m. people at the present time. Traditionally the college has concentrated on providing three broad categories of course: part‐time classes for students on day‐release or studying for professional qualifications in” their own time; short courses and special seminars to keep executives up‐to‐date on new developments; and full‐time courses for those seeking a career in one of the many different aspects of distribution. To reflect the trade the college is divided into five departments, each a specialist in its field. Near Smithfield Market is the department of food technology, recently modernised at a cost of over £200,000, which serves as the country's main centre of education for the meat industry and for environ‐mental health courses in food hygiene inspection. The display department, the largest of its kind in Europe, has its own specialist accommodation in Charing Cross Road, with some 70 full‐size display windows with which students practice. A seven‐storey block in one corner of Leicester Square was leased in 1968 to allow the college to expand its activities considerably. This building now houses three departments: manage‐ment studies, marketing and advertising studies, and merchandising studies, as well as the college's administrative offices.