Retail Management Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement year at Lidl UK. They allow you to see every part of the business from Store right up to Head Office and you can really tailor the placement year to what you want to do. I found every role I was given interesting and I can definitely see myself working for the company in the future. If you are looking for a placement in retail, then Lidl UK is what you should be applying for as there are so many great opportunities presented to you throughout the year.

Everyone I met in the different modules I undertook were really supportive of my learning and would help me with any questions I had. Every question I had was answered, even the ones that I thought sounded silly! You get to meet so many different people within the company and even though you are only there for a year, you really feel a part of the team.

I had a lot of support from my managers and supervisors. In each module, I was allocated a training buddy/mentor who would help with training me in various tasks within the department and also provide support when I had problems. At the end of each module, there would be an appraisal and this was a great opportunity to sit down with your supervisors/managers and see where you have progressed and where you can improve within yourself and your role.

There was always something to do, you were never just standing around doing nothing or you would never become bored! Even though you are working 40 hours a week, the time would just fly by and there was always time for a social life at home, so even though you are busy each day, there was always a good balance.

I was given a lot of responsibility in my roles. Once I felt comfortable enough and was trained to a certain level, I would be left to run whole shifts on my own. The placement is a Retail Management one and you can expect to do a lot of management based tasks throughout the year i.e. delegating jobs, which is something I had never done before!

I feel I have become a lot more confident in myself in such a way that I can approach new people and confidently present and communicate in various situations. I have taken on a lot more management skills that I can take through to university and my working life later on. My time management and organisation skills have improved massively which is very helpful, especially going into my final year of university. The skills you gain on this placement are definitely skills for life!

The atmosphere was great. There were some days where your team would become stressed because you were busy i.e. the week leading up to Christmas! But you all learn to work together and get the job done. Everyone is helpful to each-other and pulls together as a team so there is hardly any tension between colleagues.

It was very well organised. Details of meetings, where you will be working next or other little things were communicated well in advance to them taking place. The structure outlined on the website is exactly what you got in the placement so there were no big surprises when you started!

The company would provide appraisals at the end of every module you undertook so you would know where you would be doing well and what areas you could improve on. We were provided with a folder with details of what each module expected of you and what sort of jobs you would be taking on if you were to choose that module. There is a lot of time spent supporting you and making sure you are getting the training and development you need throughout the year.

I am still currently working for Lidl UK in a different role within the region which has allowed me to stay in contact with the people I know there and the department I wish to work for. I would definitely like to have a full time position at the company once I finish university! We have had help in having a biography written for us which is sent throughout the company for different departments to look at for future roles.

The placement students are located throughout the country so we were only able to meet on national meetings or when we were based in Head Office. However, we were all in constant contact with each-other and when we did meet we always took part in great activities together.

I lived at home while on placement so I did not incur many living costs, the only money I spent would be on travelling to and from work which would be about £30 a week.

I lived at home so I was already used to the nightlife!

There were not many activities that took place outside of work apart from when we went to the national meetings. We had dinners together and also took part in a Bear Grylls challenge at then end of the placement!