Lidl to Offer Overseas Management Training: Report

European grocer Lidl wants to broaden its new U.S. managers’ horizons by sending them overseas for training, according to a published report.

“We’re looking to build a leadership pipeline that includes store managers and supervisors,” Lidl spokesman Will Harwood told the Wilmington, Del., News Journal, referring to a two-day job fair being held in the area. “It’s also a great way to learn about the company and the opportunities we’ll be providing in the future.”

Lidl held the hiring event in hopes of staffing a 36,000-square-foot store now under construction in Middletown, Del., and other proposed locations in Dover and Ogletown, Del., as well as a regional headquarters and distribution center in nearby Perryville, Md.

According to Harwood, Lidl will send new managers to England or Ireland for extended training. “Typically, training for those positions last six months, but we haven’t set a range for our U.S. positions yet,” he said.

The German discount retailer, with U.S. headquarters in Arlington County, Va., plans to open 150 stores in the United States by 2018.