Nutrition Student Review

The year was a fantastic experience which offered many opportunities I wouldn’t have thought I would have got from a placement year. I learnt so much throughout the year in different areas of the business allowing me to broaden my knowledge and understanding of the food industry, as well as helping me to build a future career path. There was also a great social aspect to the year with the other placement students and meeting new people in Waitrose.

I felt valued by both my team and wider department, with everyone making me feel very welcome. Those who I worked with throughout my projects treated me as an equal instead of just a ‘placement student’ and appreciated the work I had contributed.

I had a fantastic manager who helped me to develop throughout the year, valuing my contributions and always willing to take time out to answer any questions or work through any current issues.

I was generally busy most days, especially when working on certain projects which gave me the opportunity to work on time management, organisation and prioritising your work.

I believe I was given a good amount of responsibility through all of the projects I have worked on, responding to customer queries and attending conferences and events to represent Waitrose, with the feeling that the work I am doing is contributing to the business.

Everything I have learnt and developed throughout the year will be used and will help me to acheive a good degree, secure a job post University and will be carried through to my future jobs.

There is a great atmosphere in the office with everyone being very friendly, even when walking throughout the whole office block and people you don't necessarily work with. It is a good balance of a relaxed yet professional atmosphere.

The structure of my placement gave me the opportunity to experience different teams within the department by taking on projects with various teams. My manager was flexible and tailored my placement to allow me to develop myself and get the most out of my year. There were also opportunities throughout the year for placement students to share their experiences to have an insight into other areas of the business.

I had the opportunity to attend various training sessions which were valuable and the knowledge will be used in my future career. There is an element of being proactive yourself to seek out the opportunities first and you will then be given the support. The Partnership are good at supporting Partners to develop themselves, offering benefits such as Leisure Learning.

Whilst there isn't an opportunity to return straight after University for the role I would like to go into, I can see a future career with Waitrose in the long term.

As there were a number of placement students there was a good social aspect to the year, with some of the student living together also, which still gave a hintof University! There are also opportunities to get involved in social events through the Partnership such as an evening at the races with colleagues or sailing on the Partnership boats.

As we lived in a student area there are opportunities to meet other students and get involved in student nights. There are different things you can do in Reading and the surrounding area with London only being 25 minutes away on the train also for a decent ticket price (with a railcard!). The cost of living wasn't too expensive. We managed to shop well at Waitrose by cooking our dinners as a house which helped to keep food costs down.

As Reading is a student area there are a few different options for a night out, but you could also branch out to try places like Windsor or London which aren't too far if you fancy mixing it up!

Through the Partnership there are opportunities to get involved in various activities at subsidised prices which should be made the most of! Once you get looking there are lots of things you can get involved in.