Industrial Placement Student Review

I Thoroughly enjoyed every minuite of my Industrial Placement at Aldi, I have gained valuable insight to every stage of the Aldi business model. Along the way I have developed skills of signifacnt importance which I believe I would not have had the chance to develop undertaking a Placement Year elsewhere.

Within my time in Store i felt extremley valued by my collegues. My Store Manager was very supportive as were the rest of the Management team, I was treated as a valued member of staff from day one not only from my Store Manager but from the rest of the store team as a whole. Again I felt very part of the store team from very early stages and I belive this strong support system within store made the whole placement more enjoyable.

As stated before I had an extremley supportive Store Manager. He provided me with daily feedbck and also weekly feedback meetings in which we discussed areas in which I was performing well and highlighting areas to improve, a really key aspect which made my store training as a whole much easier. My Area Manager as well as my Store Manager gave guidance and support when needed; they were happy to help me with my development and/or any questions I had at all times.

It is in Aldi's culture that you will never have a quiet day so to speak. Within Store you are constantly busy due to the fast paced retail environment but this is also due to Aldi's efficiency business model. You will never have a dull moment on this Placement as your mind is constantly ticking over and there is always something to do. I would point out although this is a work pace not for everyone I really enjoyed this aspect as you were never ever bored!

Aldi offers a level of responsibility for Placement Students that is unsurpassed. Within Store I was trained to Assitant Manger level position, which includes a large amount of responsibility. After completing my management training I was confidently running the store alone managing a wide variety of tasks and more importantly managing a team of people. The Management responsibilities given on this placement you are again, unlikely to get elsewhere. The level of Responsibility is high and there is a certain aspect of pressure that comes with this however if tou put in 100% and never shy away from responsibility it is a very enjoyable responsibility to have.

As mentioned before the number of skills i have developed on this Placement are endless. I also believe that not only have i developed my skills from a professional and employability perspective but I have also developed on a personal level in terms of my confidence and the way I present myself. All these attributes will help me within my final year of univeristy and not to mention the endless examples of management, team work and communication i have for future interviews. I also believe not only will skills such as improved organistaion and time management help me within my studies I have also developed my report creation skills and the ability to be concise. The Aldi Placment will also help you to see things from a retail point of view which is especially helpfull for certain modules for example Operations Managment which I am Studying next year.

As I mentioned the first half of the Placment is in store and the atmosphere in store is very energentic and team focussed which is really enjoyable to be part of. Within the second half of the project we have been in and out of the head regional distribution centre altough everyone in the office is friendly and welcoming.

At the beginning of the placement we were given a yearly overview plan of the placement which was really useful and informative to have, this was changed during the year in terms of the office part but the changes were always communicated clearly from my area manager. We were also given a structured training programme which clearly highlights the dates in which you should have completed each part of your training which is useful as you can take responsibility for your own training.

Again when in store i believe my store manager invested alot in terms of my training and devlopment and was happy to help with any aspect.

The Aldi Industrial Placment can be an excellent stepping stone onto the graduate scheme. I 100% want to reapply to the company and because of the IP programme we would have an advantage over other candidates.

There were 5 placment students within the region, whilst in store it we were fairly seperated but I attended a Christmas do with my store managment team. As a group of industrial placments we all got on really well and joined the nearby gym together. In terms of socialising we went out for dinner a handful of times in Manchester.

I lived at home during the placement therefore my cost of living did not change.

Again I lived at home however the Manchester nightlifte is great and caters to a wide range of tastes.

Again as you are always busy at Aldi and due to the working hours there is not much time for socialising howver you will always make time for activitie you love to do!