Late Trading Assistant Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement at TUI. The role is challenging but very interesting and rewarding . It is a great company to work for with such a friendly environment and a great social side.

I certainly felt valued by my colleagues even though I am a placement. As a placement you are given the same responsibility as any other full-time colleague and therefore treated likewise.

The support I have been given by my manager has been superb. Fortnightly 1 to 1 catch ups are in place. There is also a buddy scheme in place allowing you to discuss anything with them. Everyone really cares about you as a person making sure that you are enjoying your placement.

There are busier and quieter periods which is the nature of trading with Winter period being quieter and the Summer period is very busy. Nevertheless, this did help to settle into the role and there were always additional task and roles alongside to make sure I was occupied.

This is certainly one of the best things of the placement. Having to look after your own resorts comes with a lot of responsibility. It is your responsibility to make sure that the resort is hitting its target in terms of volume, margin and commitment utilisation. It is great to say that it was your responsibility to look after resorts with a joint capacity of over 200,000 and having to recover over £10 million of hotel commitment.

There are certainly skills I have developed that I will be using next year. Improving my time management has been a personal focus area which has certainly improved which will be beneficial next year. Learning weeks are run several time a year which offer sessions to improve specific skills. The placement team also run sessions such as a presentation workshop which we all found very beneficial.

The general atmosphere is great in an open planned office. There is such a friendly environment but there is also a professional and result driven side. There are many interactive sessions run in the office to learn and talk to other departments in the office which has included learning about new destinations being launched.

The placement scheme is run very well. When we arrived we were given a 4 week training plan and knew exactly what we had every hour which I was very impressed with. There is a placement team who organise the placement. This included many project and workshops such as a presentation workshop, an insights discovery and a breakfast with the director. They also organise three placement projects for us which usually entails working with other areas of the business - we had to design a new room style guide for the Holiday Village concept. Considering those who run the placement scheme do this alongside their day to day job, they do a fantastic job.

The company has invested a lot into my personal training and development. As mentioned, insights workshops and presenting workshops were organised for us as a placement group. Learning weeks are organised for the whole company and are recommended to develop skills such as Excel and time management. As part of the commercial division, TODP are also run which are great to learn about different division of the company such as Cruise or aviation planning.

The future employment prospects are certainly appealing. There is a graduate scheme run by TUI and placements are given a fast track onto the assessment centre. I have personally enjoyed my role and the team so much that I wanted to come back to late trading. Having discussed with both my manager and general manager I have been lucky enough to be given a role once I have graduated. This is great news for me personally not having to worry about looking for a job and being able to focus on my studies.

The social side was fantastic. As a group of placements we regularly went for a meal out together or some drinks. The team also had a great social side. We tried to make sure we had at least one social activity a month which included a comedy night and a karaoke night. We would regularly go to the pub on a Friday night which was a nice way to finish the week.

Luton is reasonable considering its location. Harpenden, St Albans and London aren't the cheapest but happy hours are always available which we looked to make the most of!

The nightlife in Luton isn't fantastic but what is great is its location to London. London can be reached in 25 minutes and many nights in Shoreditch and Camden have been enjoyed. The train also runs all night during the week which is very handy to be able to get back. Harpenden and St Albans have some great pub and bars also.

There were opportunities to get involved with activities outside work. I was part of the choir which I thoroughly enjoyed and performed to the whole of office. In addition, there are football and netball teams. In addition I took part in rounders competition and a darts evening which I thoroughly enjoyed.