I'm not sure that they are hard to get into - rather, they have very high volumes of applications so they can pick & choose.

If you have a retail background, have you considered applying for other types of customer-service jobs? I'm thinking things like post office, chemist, medical reception, even call centre work, etc. Try to think about all the other skills you have, and what employers need those sorts of skills, eg, I took a banking background into a library job, because my application emphasized client-service skills, information retrieval, and good ability to learn new IT platforms and processes quickly. Throw in a few sexy words like flexible, keen to learn, and valuing a diverse workplace, and you'll have a job in no time.
Haha, yeah I just redid my resume and added a few fancy things like that. But i have to be careful with the 'flexible' part because I am now not so flexible. But my main experience is hospitality so I really play up the 'exceptional customer service skills' as to avoid being put in the 'no retail experience' box. I just looked into some courses and no retail courses are government funded. The lady on the phone said I probably wouldn't need it anyway considering my experience in hospitality (10 years)