Purchasing Undergraduate Review

Working for JLR has been a very enjoyable experience. Plenty of work to do so you never get bored but still in an environment where you are not scared to make a mistake.

Being thrown in at the deep end really pushes you to take responsibility and be valued by your team.

Guidance was mainly provided in my case by senior members of my team. They were always happy to answer any questions I had. Even though my manager was quite busy a lot of the time it was still very easy to get guidance. The undergraduate scheme is not so much a scheme. You are given the same responsibilities as anybody else and therefore there wasn't too many opportunities to learn along side other undergrads.

I was very busy with my personal responsibilities. Not only having my own work to do but also providing analysis and help with other peoples. This was not lackey work. it really feels like it was adding value.

By around 6 months into my time at JLR I was doing the same job as senior members of my team. I was given full responsibility of high value deals in JLR.

I think my business acumen has certainly increased working for JLR. I think the skills I learned at JLR were helped by the fact I went out of my way to do work. You could relatively easily sick at your desk all day and not learn anything if you were not motivated to make a name for yourself.

The atmosphere in my office was also very friendly with lots of people around to ask for help. Most people you need to speak to day-to-day are based nearby and you develop a strong working relationship with them.

It was organised in the fact that there was an undergraduate day on the first day to understand JLR better. However managers are given almost no structure on what their undergrad should be given and therefore having a manager who's willing to give you a lot of work is important.

The company let me develop into the role of someone who would be permanent. If you want to pick up more work you can simply ask to do it and then you'll build up those soft skills needed to work with other stakeholders in the company.

Graduate scheme is relatively good pay for the work it requires. However, it is very structured. If you are looking for career progression then maybe being a buyer in purchasing isn't the place for you. You could argue that purchasing graduates are just cheaper senior buyers.

Non existent. I was the only undergrad at my site doing purchasing and you have little need to be in touch with younger colleagues if they aren't in your direct team.

NA I lived at home.

NA

JLR has an educational programme which gives you up to £200 to do a course every 6 months. The term "educational" is very lax. We spend the day taking a range rover off-roading which was good fun. You get a chance to see and drive the cars which makes working more rewarding, thinking that you are effecting an actual product.