Shops occasionally team up to train staff at the centre (7)
I believe the answer is:
emporia
'shops' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for emporia that I've seen before include "large-scale marketing operations" , "I'm a rope (anag)" , "Large retail shops" , "Large stores" , "Trading centres" .)