Management Trainee Review

The placement was exceptional. During the placement I was able to develop many skills. These included my sales skills and customer service skills. I was also taught key business skills that prior to my placement, I had only learnt about in lecture. The placement gave me the opportunity to put them into practise. These include: finance skills, project management, leadership, team work and many more! The placement allowed me to experience a fast paced business and contribute to its success.

The staff treatment and praise at Enterprise was the best I have ever experienced. Yes the job is hard and the hours can be long, but you are rewarded for your hard work and the managers and other team appreciate that you are working hard. I was rewarded many times with treats or other incentives. Furthermore, every employee starts on the graduate or placement scheme, so when you inevitably make mistakes there is no hatred towards you, the other employees completely understand and help you learn from it.

Training and support was one of the main things that even now, post placement, stands out to me. There was 50 employees at the branch I worked at, so it would've been easy for me to become lost in the crowd and the managers not check in on me. However this was not the case, all the managers take the time to get to know you and constantly check in on you and support you through the role.

I worked at the Heathrow Airport branch so as you can imagine, it was always very busy. There was never a time that I was stood around looking for a task to do. Even at the start of an early shift or the end of a late shift, there was paperwork and other tasks to do to ensure I was kept busy and my time was spent wisely. Some days felt overwhelming in business, but that is natural in a new role.

I was part of a large team on the placement, but that did not stop me being given a lot of responsibility. Each customer you serve and check in, your customer service to them is essential to the success of the company and the branch. That level of responsibility is exciting and pushes you to do well. Furthermore during the later stages of my placement I was promoted to Team Leader, assisting the assistant manager in running shifts and leading a team of 4 other employees.

I have been able to apply much of the experience and skills I have gained to my degree. Even on a social level, from interacting with customers and working in a real business, I feel more confident in group projects and voicing my opinions. Furthermore I was able to apply areas of the business that I witnessed as primary research in my assignments. I firmly believe that whatever role I go into after university, that the skills I developed on my placement with Enterprise will be pivotal in its success.

FUN. There was always a buzz in the office. Many of the staff were around a similar age to myself, which meant we had similar interests and enjoyed similar things. This meant there was always laughter in the office and the staff enjoyed themselves, even during very busy spells. This atmosphere rubbed off on customers, who often mentioned how friendly everyone was and how fun the atmosphere seemed. Especially during the Christmas period with music playing etc.

From the first interview stage it was clear the scheme was run efficiently. From my training week in week 1, there was then regular training days throughout my placement. Furthermore the task I had to complete during my placement were well explained and my assistant manager regularly sat me down to check in on my development and to make sure I was organised. I have no complaints about the organisation of the placement, it was the best.

There was regular training days to develop my knowledge on the business and my skills. I was assigned projects to complete during my placement to ensure I made the most of my time and that it was a success. Furthermore they offer the chance to do an internal qualification which ensures you have all the essential business knowledge. Once passed, this qualification then allows you to apply for assistant manager roles from graduate scheme level onwards.

As I had such success on my placement, I am confident that I could go back to Enterprise as a graduate and sit, and pass my internal qualification within months. This would then allow me to apply for assistant manager roles quickly. From there the opportunities are endless, the company promotes on merit not years served. So if you perform well and are able to get your branch performing well, there is nothing stopping you from getting to branch manager and possibly Area Manager within 5 years.

Most people at my branch were either fellow placement students or graduates. This meant that outside of work we were all able to socialise at the pub or other social events. Even within work, on breaks and lunch periods the atmosphere was always fun and you and the other employees had similar interests and hobbies. This also meant that you were at similar stages of life and could relate to what you and the other employees were going through.

I chose to work at Heathrow Airport which meant renting in London which was inevitably, very expensive. This also meant that any nights out with work or pub trips were also more expensive that if I located elsewhere. This was not the fault of the company though and infact, made it even more special when there was events paid for by work as that would not have been a cheap fee for them to take on.

London nightlife speaks for itself. Whether it was a event put on by Enterprise or a night out with colleagues, in London it was always a good night out. The joy of being at Heathrow Airport was the tube was right there, so could easily ride into central London to go out for a meal in the evening or a trip to the pub. Furthermore being in London, there was such a range of places to go, nights out were never boring.

There was often social events put on by work. Also because the team was so large, on many occasions people would go to play golf or basketball or football etc and invite you along too. It was important to have these activities available because you work hard at Enterprise, and they want to reward you for that. They encourage you to socialise with your colleagues and to go out and wind down after a shift.