Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed the placement and was given real responsibility from the start.

The staff I met in all areas of the business were incredibly welcoming, friendly and helpful.

The Regional Training Mentor was fantastic and always available if I needed to contact him with any issues. Senior staff were always willing to give advice and guidance without being overbearing.

In store you never stop! There is always another task to complete and it is a challenge to keep on top of all the work. In the property department I was also busy but I didn't feel under pressure and was given enough time to complete tasks. The only time I was bored was within the warehouse where I sometimes felt the tasks I was given was more to keep me out of the way than to benefit my development.

I was really pleased with the amount of responsibility I was given. When completing my store management training I was often responsible for the running of the store, managing staff and keeping track of turnover and productivity. While working with the property department I was very surprised at the amount of responsibility I was given. I carried out a lot of independent work including site analysis, design and planning of stores and negotiation with external bodies. Work that I completed also contributed to important decisions regarding investments worth millions of pounds!

I have developed a vast range of key skills through the work that I have done whilst on the placement and I feel that I am far better prepared for the future than I was twelve months ago.

The Lidl placement is split into different modules so you can gain experience of different working environments. In store there was a very good atmosphere with everyone working together to hit daily targets. In the property offices everyone got on well together and I had a lot of fun working with certain members of the team. The warehouse was the only area that lacked a positive working atmosphere.

The placement is well structured and the only issues that arose were due to a personnel change as the Placement Co-ordinator was promoted halfway through the year.

The placement gave me so many opportunities to develop on a daily basis but there were also training events specifically for the placement students. Both in store and in the property department I was really pleased with the amount of time that senior staff devoted to my training.

I would definitely consider a career with Lidl but I am more interested in the property part of the business for which there is no direct entry route.

The students all got on very well and we had a lot of fun when we were together at meetings and training sessions. I really enjoyed going to Head Office where we all lived together for two weeks and got the opportunity to mix outside of work. We were also lucky enough to be part of the District Manager Christmas Party in Manchester and I also went on staff nights out when I was in store.

I lived with friends from university in Leeds for most of the year so there was no change in my local experience.

I lived with friends from university in Leeds for most of the year so there was no change in my local experience.

There were some activities outside of work but owing to the relatively small number of placement students they were not really aimed at us.