Placement Student Review

I enjoyed every minute of my time at Lidl UK during my placement year, I was given the opportunity to experience all areas of the business within the Scotland region and was exposed to departments and industries I would never have dreamt of spending time in. The placement scheme with Lidl has been ideal for me, as prior to this year I had no idea what particular area of the business world I would like to work in, the opportunity to rotate around the business has been perfect.

Everyone is very busy in Lidl with their roles and responsibilities, if you show commitment and hard work to the business coupled with a willingness to tackle any task given to you, the team will value you and ensure you feel a part of team Lidl.

Throughout the whole placement I was given full support and guidance within each department that I worked within. Every department manager and the team within that always had a willingness to support and guide you on what is expected. Along with this, the Regional Training Consultant and Head office Training and Development were extremely approachable, would regularly check in on your progress and you would always know they are there for assistance or advice should you need it.

Again, if you show a willingness to commit and put hard work into the department you are working in, you will be given a wealth of tasks to keep you busy each day, not once throughout my whole 48 weeks at Lidl did I feel like I was doing repetitive tasks and I wasn't busy.

Throughout my time at Lidl I was given a significant amount of responsibility which was much surprising to me at the beginning of my placement. During my sales experience, I was running a shift within a busy store over the Christmas period, to my time in the property department when I was involved in preparing business cases to be presented to the board of directors for multi million pound projects. Not once during my time did I feel like a 'trainee sat at the end of a desk', or 'just another trainee', my whole time with the company I felt like I was adding value and doing worthwhile tasks.

During my time at Lidl I have been exposed to a wide range of training, from structured training with the rest of the placement students within particular areas providing me with transferrable skills. to my time working within the training department when I was able to experience store manager training sessions. These off-the-job training sessions coupled with a wealth of training on the job will assist me with my future career during both my studies and working life.

As Lidl are a very busy company to work for, there is a real team environment and atmosphere. Everyone is always motivated to get the next task done and keen to have a laugh along the way. Due to the current growth that Lidl is going through, there is a real buzz and excitement throughout the company to see what the next step might be in the Lidl journey in the market.

The organisation of the placement scheme is excellent, on the first day I was given a plan of how the next 48 weeks would develop and this was stuck to throughout the whole year. This also included an extensive folder which contained all of the various departments I would have the opportunity to work in and relevant training plan. This gave me an opportunity to figure what I would be most interested in and get excited about the next year with Lidl.

As highlighted earlier, if you show a willingness and commitment to the company you will receive on the job training and development that no other placement scheme could offer. This goes beyond a retail environment, from warehousing and administration to designing buildings and their construction. Aside from this, providing you with a trip to London for training sessions for your own personal development is another example of the willingness to invest in every member of the team.

Due to the significant growth with Lidl, I have no doubt that if you show a commitment and strong work ethic to Lidl during your time with them, there are a broad range of career opportunities available. many of which include international travel.

A positive and excellent social scene is encouraged amongst placement students, meeting up during the scheme with students from all areas of the UK for evenings or even weeks to exchange experiences has been fundamental to my success with Lidl during the last year. Methods of communicating with your colleagues throughout the UK through social networking is also encouraged to keep in touch, ask questions and keep up to date on each-others progress.

As the scheme is based throughout the whole of the UK this will vary depending on your area.

Again, as the placement is throughout the UK based in various regions this will vary, but the opportunities to get involved with company events in your region in the evenings is something that is very popular!

There are often social events organised in the regional areas and charity events which you can get involved in outside of work, depending on your location there is always many things going on.