Optical sales assistant

Optical assistants are responsible for selling and offering specialised technical advice about optical products. They normally sell products such as frames, lenses, contact lenses, sunglasses, accessories, eye protection products and, occasionally, also sell optical tools and products related to hearing. Optical assistants look after the visual health of their customers and those who hold a degree in Optometry perform visual therapy tasks, such as check-ups and prescriptions. It is becoming increasingly common for them to also offer aesthetic advice. These professionals normally report to the shop manager.

• Immediately greet and serve customers when they enter the shop. Identify customer needs by asking any necessary questions to find out exactly what products they want, insofar as is possible.
• Adviser and it advises to the clients, both at the level of visual correction and to aesthetic level.
• Prepare quotes/estimates for products and services (repairs, guarantees, etc.).
• Wrap or pack products sold.
• Manage product stocks and inform suppliers of products requested by customers that have to be ordered in.
• They may take on the role of manager, in the absence of this figure.
• In some companies, they may also be involved in choosing what products the shop should purchase.

Regulated training and graduates

• Professionalism Certificate: Implementation and enlivenment of commercial spaces (Level 3)
• A-levels
• Professional Training Course(s) in the field of Trade and Marketing - Advanced Level: Sales and commercial spaces management
• Professional Training Course(s) in teh field of Professional Mechanical engineering - Advanced Level: Optical glass
• Grau: Òptica i optometria

Complementary training

Other specific skills

Learning and use of knowledge: Level 1

Planning and organisation: Level 2

Commitment to the organisation: Level 1

Customer orientation: Level 2

Flexibility and change management: Level 2

Customer service

Direct and personal interaction with people and relating to the public are highly-motivating activities for individuals who have an interest in the field of customer service. A focus on people and on satisfying customers' needs is key in the occupations included in this field. These jobs entail the need to know suitable techniques for attending to the public and being able to give appropriate service that is tailored to their needs and expectations. Good examples are activities which offer assistance and guidance during functions, trips or at facilities, and those which provide advice in relation to products and services.

Logistics

The planning, organisation, control and carrying out of logistics and administrative tasks are the focus of people who work in the field of logistics. Activities in the field of logistics include the organisation and planning of supply, storage, production and distribution systems, taking inventories, controlling stock and estimating production, as well as the organisation and/or carrying out of the administrative tasks necessary for the implementation of these activities. Knowledge of organisation, control and management techniques is essential for carrying out these activities.

Healthcare

Working to maintain and improve health, as well as physical and mental well-being, is the primary interest of people who are involved in the field of healthcare. Some of the activities in this field include making diagnoses, prescribing treatments and monitoring illnesses and injuries. These activities also include the application of therapeutic treatments (traditional or alternative) with a view to facilitating the physical recovery of those being treated. To carry out these activities, one must have in-depth knowledge of the human body and medicine, in its various specialisations.

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• Work hours

  There is a wide variety of options for this occupation, where hours are concerned, because these largely depend on the area where the establishment is situated (shopping centre, city centre or peripheral neighbourhood), as well as on the type of establishment (street stall, stall at a municipal market, etc.). The opening hours of commercial establishments are regulated by the Law on Business Hours, which sets forth the opening and closing hours for shops, as well as the public holidays on which establishments can open. The usual working hours of 40 hours a week can be done in intensive shifts (in the morning or afternoon) or split-shifts (morning and afternoon with a break at lunchtime). A lot of business is done on Fridays and Saturdays at this type of shops.

• Salary

  Salary range: between 14.664 and 20.468 euros annum gross. Median: 17.326 euros annum gross.
  
  Source: Report "Observatory of Jobs and Salaries of the Labour Market. Barcelona Activa", elaborated by ICSA Grupo. April 2015.

• Professional category

  Specialist staff