Industrial Placement Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with Aldi, it was really challenging at times but equally as rewarding. The skills I have learnt this year will definitely be helpful both in my degree and in my future career.

I felt very valued, in store time I acted as an Assistant Store Manager and in my short time in stores I felt very welcome and my opinion valued. When in store being humble and learning from the experienced team around you is vital for both personal development and to get the real team atmosphere in an Aldi store. In the office time my work was highly valued as it would often be working on projects for directors which were always current issues within the department. Although the work we produced was highly valued, sometimes the departments weren't prepared for us to be with them which was the only time I felt I wasn't as valued.

During the store time each IP has an experienced Area Manager as a mentor and it is really useful to have someone that you see often that supports you in and supervises your progression through the year. While in office we had another mentor that we had fortnightly updates with and were genuinely interested in our office progression. To have this support in the office was very useful as the office is a very different environment to store and to have a supervisor to support you at the beginning is very useful. There are also formal updates with the Store operations director a couple of times during the 12 months which is helpful as you feel they are also interested in watching your progression through the 12 months.

The 12 months have flown by at Aldi, there is never a dull day and no day is the same. Which is the amazing thing about the placement. There are so many different opportunities and although it is a challenging year the rewards and sense of accomplishment is definitely worth it.

The amount of responsibility given do early on is amazing. In stores you are quickly a valued member of management and are given the keys to a store which in itself is huge amounts of responsibility but in store and as you progress to the Assistant Store Manager level there is even higher levels of responsibility. Although at the beginning the responsibility you have in store is heavily highlighted as a key part of the placement I found the responsibility you get in the office is equally as impressive. The projects you do for directors is vital work for the company and is highly valued.

Both professional and personal skills I have learnt this year will definitely help in my final year at university and later in my career.

The culture at Aldi is very professional. The team at RHO are made up of different departments and there are often different Area Managers in daily this is a good opportunity to get to know them better. Each store team is different but all stores area close knit teams who are very hard working and driven in the same direction to be the best store they can be. The store environment is a great environment and the interaction with customers is also a great part of store time.

At the beginning of the year you receive a well-structured training plan which highlights where you will be each week, this is great for planning in advance, the holidays are already issued which to some may be an issue but for the benefit of the year they have clearly thought through the placing of them as they are at the most natural places. When in head office some of the departments were not as prepared as others which was not always the most engaging aspect but majority were well prepared and gave in depth plans at the beginning of there section.

In stores the training is very structured and it is clear as to where you are up to in your store time, in office its more intangible skills you learn but a vary of different skills are learnt throughout the entire office time. Although you are encouraged to do the formal training it is recommended to navigate your own personal development and you can ask for more responsibility which is great as its not a blanket approach.

The Graduate Scheme is heavily highlighted as the next step for placement students, and it is definitely a possibility if performance through the year is to a high standard. Although there is no official record of the process at the end of the 12 months which may have been helpful earlier on so IP´s understand the final process better.

During store time I was placed over an hour from any other placement student and only talked with them when we crossed paths at company events. In the office time as all IPs are placed in the RHO then there is more opportunity to work with them and socialising although we often just had lunch together. There is a national IP event at the beginning of the year and at the end were all Aldi placement students to socialise with each other which is definitely a great opportunity.

I lived inside the M25 and found a room on spare-room. I was fortunate as my store time was within 30 minutes of RHO so I didn't have to move house when moving to office time. I paid £530 a month which is reasonable for the area as I could get into the centre of London in 20 minutes.

It was good, there were a few bars and clubs however I did not make much use of these through the year

There was a management social during store time, but when in stores it is advised not to social with other employees, although when the management in my store socialised I often went along which was really enjoyable.