Industrial Placement Student [Waitrose] Review

A valuable opportunity to gain contacts in the industry and begin my first steps into management. The only downside being that the 'student' tag was often seen as a barrier by some to progress further than I was able to

By those who reported into me I felt as though I was highly valued by giving honest feedback and investing time in them via pdp and performance assessments. By those I report into I felt as though some would see me as more of a student than someone actually in the job role, even though targets and expectations were consistently met

Waitrose are renound for being a bit of a 'chuck in the deep end' type of organisation with regards to on-the-job training and this was no different. For the majority of tasks it is fairly self explanatory so I don't mind the challenge! However for more sensitive areas of my training I wish that a few of my colleagues would have spent more time with me.

A contrast in the first and second 6 months. The first 6 months where my student tag was the biggest hinderance to my progression saw little accountability and responsibility put onto me which was frustrating towards my development. The final 6 months saw me in a new role for the business which takes on a ridiculous amount and has been expressed by those who have been in the industry for years. It was good to see this though.

First 6 months saw very little. Second 6 months saw me in charge of rotas, pay, hours and branch accountability such as security, wastage and audit based legalities which was a fantastic opportunity

I would like to think this will be valuable as I have experienced and demonstrated people management skills and began to look at the way of prioritising tasks and getting a feel for the retail sector in particular

Dependent on who was in there and at what time. There are many mixed personalities in retail and sometimes this can be quite a negative atmosphere!

It would be harsh to say badly because the year is what you want to make of it, dependent on your progress with targets etc. However, the biggest hinderance for me was that many of my line managers were unfamiliar with what an industrial placement was, and referred to this more than the actual job roles I was in/pushing for towards my development. Clarity for those I report into would have made this a lot more efficient

I regularly attended conferences and training centres by choice which showed an excellent return from Waitrose in terms of funding for these, but these were mainly for new project roll outs in branch which gave me an opportunity to coach others

Being fast tracked to group assessment in the interview process

We set up a facebook group. It was probably better for the head office students living together but I have made some good friends nonetheless

Living at home as I was moving around branches

Dependent on where you are situated but birmingham was good

The social club and ethos with partners in branch is usually very social