Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed the placement. As far as giving you an overview of the entire business this placement is second to none.

From the first interview it was obvious that the company intended to invest significant amounts of money and time into it's placement students. I felt valued and was supported by every single person I met during my time with the business.

Almost all of the managers I worked for were excellent and offered me guidance and support whenever I needed it. They were approachable and I could always find out the answers to my questions. I cannot speak highly enough of the team at head office that managed the placement students - they were fantastic from the first day to the last and were always available if we needed help or guidance.

The placement allows you to pick 4 modules over the course of the year from a hige variety of different areas of the business. I chose to do 3 modules in Sales (this was in store and I was able to progress to Store Manager level) and one in Dispo (this was the stock control department at the regional distribution centre). In store I was really busy - there is always something to do! However I never felt under pressure that I couldn't cope with. During my time in Dispo there was slightly less to do as the work was more technical - however I was given projects to undertake which kept me busy.

I was given loads of responsibility from day one of the placement. In store I managed shifts, was given keys to the store, completed the orders unsupervised, and handled the safe and large amounts of cash amongst other things. In dispo for example I was left unsupervised to visit stores to carry out Bakery and Freshness audits and had to give feedback to the store managers on their performance.

Whilst my degree mainly gives me theoretical knowledge this placement has allowed me to work on the practical side of "business and management". I have developed many skills over the year (some subconsciously) which will help me in my career and throughout my last year of study.

In store the atmosphere was really good. It was busy but there was a real team spirit and everyone helped each other to get the job done. In Dispo it was different but no less enjoyable - there was office banter and general chat which improved the atmposphere and made it a pleasant place to work.

The placement was very structured and this is evident from the first day - your modules are planned way in advance however there is scope for you to change them if you wish. We were given a massive folder with contact details and loads of information in it regarding each module and the placement in general which was useful for organisation and made the structure clear.

During the year as well as work I completed a course for my personal alchohol license. The company also gave us several training days - some by external companies, to try and improve our skills.

Good - When we return after university we have to apply for jobs through the same channels as others however the placement gives us an advantage over other candidates. The placement team at Head Office have also said they will send information on all of us to each region when we graduate and we may recieve offers as a result of these.

All of the other placement students were great (there were 16 of us in total - 2 for each region). We met up every few months at meetings and also spent time together at head office for 2 weeks as part of the program. I also kept in regular contact with the other student from my region.

During my store work I lived at home - Lidl are very accommodating and can place you in a store close to your home if you wish. During my 2 months in Dispo I lived 140 miles from the RDC offices so was put in a hotel for weekdays and returned home at weekends. Over the course of the year Lidl invested heavily into travel, hotels and other expenses for me and were happy to do so.

Pretty dull in Cornwall and Weston-Super-Mare (RDC location) but Bristol wasn't far away.

We had regular evenings out in store and played football a few times. In Dispo we had a Summer meal and night out in Bristol which was good!