Industrial Placement Review

I really enjoyed my time at ALDI. From store time to head office time I met a lot of really pleasant people who made the whole experience very enjoyable. The work was always engaging and the sense of reward after completing a tough task made the whole experience well worth it.

Everybody was very supportive of me throughout my time on the Industrial Placement scheme. As long as you work hard and portray yourself in the best way possible, you will gain the respect of your team and, as such, they will in turn repay your hard work with respect for you.

Throughout the placement, you have a mentor who is assigned to you prior to starting the year. This person will support you throughout the year offering guidance, support and advice. You always feel that you can ask them questions and they are always approachable and friendly. They are definitely someone who you should build a relationship with as soon as possible, in order to learn as much from them as possible.

At ALDI time flies day to day. You always have a lot to do, and often a ten hour day doesn't feel like enough. You will find yourself enjoying the workload as it makes the days enjoyable. As long as you manage your time and your workload effectively, despite being busy this should never become too much for you.

Undeniably, you are given an extraordinary amount of responsibility during your time at ALDI. In store time you will manage a full store, often whilst you are the only manager in, meaning you are fully responsible for ensuring all daily tasks are completed. At head office you are working on projects directly for the directors. This a huge responsibility and highlight how important your work really can be.

Doing a degree in Management and Entrepreneurship, the skills I have developed, and the training I have received have definitely improved my understanding of my degree. Additionally to this, the amount of different experiences you will take part in, really develops you as a person, and will most certainly help with your studies back at university.

The office was a very pleasant place to work. The admin assistants were always very nice and helped us with our projects wherever they could. Directors always felt approachable and our hard work felt genuinely valued. My fellow IPs were great to work with and we produced some great pieces of work by working together.

Store time was extremely well organised. You have a clear plan of where you are working, at what time, and what exactly you will be doing. Unfortunately, at head office, the initial two week introduction period was not as well organised and myself and my fellow IPs often found ourselves unsure who we were to report to, and at what time.

I believe ALDI have invested a huge amount in me over the course of this year. The wage itself is better than any other placement year, and this is reflected in the hard work you put in. You are always given positive and constructive feedback to ensure you are developing as much as possible.

I have always made it very clear that I would like to return to ALDI as a post graduate Area Manager, and the company makes it very clear that they will develop and mould you to this role. Beyond Area Managers, there are numerous Director roles that cover many specific areas which is a achievable goal to aim for.

Unfortunately, due to the role of an ALDI Industrial Placement, it is often discouraged to build social relationships with staff, as this could lead to complications when managing them. Myself and my fellow Industrial Placement students got on very well, however due to living quite far away from each other, we did not meet up outside of work.

I lived at my family home in the North West of England (Bolton Area). This meant that the cost of living was very reasonable for me, and I was able to save some money from the year. This in addition to the very generous pay packet meant that money was not an issue for the year.

Unfortunately, due to the long working hours and the nature of the role itself, I was unable to experience the nightlife in the area where I worked.

There were occasional football and golf events, and there were often fundraising activities for Teenage Cancer Trust. The football event I attended was good fun and there was a large turnout for it.