Industrial Placement Review

My placement experience with Aldi has been better than I had ever anticipated and if I had the chance to do it over again I would. Aldi’s Industrial Placement is well structured, allowing you to experience all aspects of the company: you will start as a Store Assistant, quickly progressing through the different levels of management in store before moving onto spend time in the Regional Head Office learning all aspects of the company: Finance and Administration, Property, Logistics, Store Operations and Trading. During your placement you will also spend time shadowing your designated Area Manager getting to know about their job. Your role as an Industrial Placement student is extremely challenging but rewarding.

From day one in Aldi you are valued by all members of staff, day one in a company is always a daunting thought however this was never the case with Aldi. Throughout the placement my views have always been taken into consideration and with regards to my store time I was always respected in the decisions I made.

During the placement you receive regular updates and reviews with your Area Manager and Store Operations Director to discuss your performance and progress in the company, how you feel you are doing and what you could improve on. There is always guidance available in Aldi, whatever your query is.

At Aldi there is always something to do; it is a fast paced challenging environment where you must be extremely focused on managing your time correctly and prioritising tasks.

After a couple of months in the placement I was responsible for running a store as the Assistant Store Manager in absence of the Store Manager. I was responsible for many decisions such as managing all employees, prioritising the stores daily tasks, completing all the orders for the store, managing the safe and all cash coming in and out of the store, the list goes on. During Head Office time you are given individual projects which can have an effect on the entire region.

I have learned a huge level of new skills throughout my placement which I know will assist me with my final year at University and also with my career plans for the future.

The atmosphere in both store and Head Office was friendly, you always had somebody to speak to if requried, I felt like part of the team in every department I trained in.

As previously stated the placement has a well structured training programme. You will complete Store Assistant and Store Management tests during your store time and during your time in each of the departments at Head Office you are given a breakdown of what task you will be doing each day.

From day one you are always supported in the company. I have gained a huge sense of achievement throughout my placement, knowing that the company believed I had the ability to achieve all that I did. I respect the company and have throughly enjoyed my placement year.

Fantastic. The company's graduate programme is first class, allowing for fast career progression in a growing company. If you complete the Industrial Placement programme your training for the graduate programme is significantly reduced, allowing you to become a fully trained Area Manager in a shorter period of time.

You do not tend to see the other placement students during your store time, however you are in daily contact with each other during your Head Office time as all Industrial Placement students complete Head Office time together, rotating through the different departments at different times. Whilst in store you had the opportunity to attend a Christmas night out with all the staff which was enjoyable.

I personally did not live in the area where I worked, I decided to travel each day. It depends where you are based for your store time, however the company are very reasonable with placing you near your home, and with regards to head office time, you are near both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

As previously stated I did not live in the area that I worked, I decided to travel each day.

A few company activities are organised throughout the year with the main one being a Christmas night out for each store.