placement student extension Review

As a result of completeing my placement year with LIDL UK, i was fortunate enough to be offered an extension of my contract throughout the summer. I worked directly alongside the Regional Training Consultant and was set a project throughout the summer. I thoroughly enjoyed this extended placement as I was exposed to sides of the business in even more detail than I had seen before. It also allowed me to continue developing as an individual before entering my final year at university.

I felt very valued by my colleagues during this time, especially by my manager as I was doing a lot of work for him during this time. He was always available for support, feedback and tips on how I can improve.

I was very busy on a daily basis, I wouldn't say I was more busy than during my official placement year but a different kind of busy as there was extra responsibility given to me. The project I was given surrounded training within the region and so I had to ensure this was delivered in a confident and efficient manner- something LIDL strive for at every opportunity.

I was given a very high level of responsibility during this extended contract. I was at many points the face of the training department as I would deliver training workshops on my own. It was up to me to understand and plan how I would deliver these sessions and then seek for feedback from the employees I was training to hand back to my manager. I have never done anything like this prior to joining the company and it will really help to boost my employability after university after delivering the project.

The summer internship was well organized. I had a briefing on my first day back after completing the placement year on what was expected for myself to deliver, who I would be directly reporting too and I had lot's of support in understanding the context of the project.

After completing this summer internship I hope to have good future prospects within the company. They invest a lot of time, support and training into their placement students and graduates, although it is definitely up to you as an individual to work had an grab every opportunity that comes into you're path. I will be aiming to join the business again after university, the next step for me is working part time during my final year at university, whilst also being a brand ambassador for the company attending recruitment events and advertising the placement scheme to current students.