Industrial Placement Student Review

Firstly this is a RETAIL placement, so ideally you would have a genuine interest in customer service, people management and a fast paced working environment. I found store time (7 months) quite difficult to begin with. Aldi is run on a tight budget and it is really hard work in the stores. You will be stacking shelves, moving pallets, condensing existing special buy tables and ordering stock all in the space of an hour. However it is really rewarding work if you have the support network of your store team. The second half of the placement (4 months) is based in various departments in head office. Here it is much more corporate like and gives you an insight into trading, logistics, accounts etc. I found the second half of my placement really beneficial to me because it gave me exposure to logistics which I have a natural interest in. However I only realised this after spending time in that department. On the whole it is really challenging but equally as rewarding placement. It's very cliche but the responsibility given is second to none.

In my first store (your store time can be split up into 2/3 stores to give you an insight) I found it hard to get the managerial side of things respected by colleagues because this is where you train and make all of your mistakes. Therefore it is hard to get that respect after this but you still feel valued, just maybe not as much as someone with experience, which is expected. In my second store I felt I could lead my store team more and felt very valued. In terms of senior management I felt very valued, IP students are seen as a valuable assets to the future of the business. Your project work is reviewed by directors and your work can go some way to effecting decision making. An example of this would be my project to improve accuracy in the warehouse. However I would add that some area managers on the graduate scheme can be quite disrespectful to IP's and store staff. This is not a common theme but I have seen examples of this. It is something to bear in mind as some area managers believe they are on a crusade to the "Top" and forget who actually make the business run, the store staff essentially. These type of area managers usually last around 18 months before they burn out with stress.

You have regular updates with area mangers and directors but these can be quite informal. You are not really set specific targets or goals and the old adage of "No news is good news" often comes to mind here. One piece of advice I would give to future IP's and its something that I would do in hindsight would be to set goals with your ops director and include a deadline in it so you have something tangible to go off. For example you might include "I want to run my own store by Christmas". Aldi is a company that very much puts the onus on its employees to ask and achieve things for themselves, no spoon feeding here. In terms of support again if you have a good area manager then they can offer you support but if you have someone that is difficult to work with, which happened in my case your store manager can act as support. There is also a retail help line for any other related support. I would also advise you to use your university liaison officer to your full advantage, if there is something your not happy about say something. I should of done this earlier in my case.

There is never a quiet day in an Aldi store, literally. You will be very busy on a day-day basis, there is so much to do and maintain in a store that it can be hard to keep on top of it. When you rise up the ranks to Assistant manger level you will be handling cash (banking), managing peoples breaks, ordering stock and making sure that the store is closed or opened to a good standard. This is challenging when you have so few people in on a given shift, especially if they are new to Aldi and not used to the pace. Then if you throw in the warehouse to boot, if you don't manage specials stock carefully and accurately you will have a massive inventory problem on your hands. So yeah store time is a million miles per hour. Head office is a lot more like a 9-5 atmosphere where you are less physically busy but you expand your technical knowledge of operations.

Something that I mentioned briefly earlier, Aldi prides itself on trusting employees from day one. Whether it is giving employees company cars or completing an audit for a national project, the exposure is there for all IP's who want it. You are given a lot of responsibility during the placement that is sometimes hard to take in, for example the audits that you carry out can lead to disciplinary action taken out. It is up to you to take this responsibility and use your skills to showcase what you can do and more importantly show that you are professional enough to handle it.

The skills learnt during the 11 months will prove to be INVALUABLE to me and my future. Obviously you have your basic skills like time management, communication etc but for me the most important skills developed here would be: Leadership styles, People management skills, Confidence and the skill of deciphering through processes in order to actually analyse what kind of career you want. Also to be Aldi specific here, the skill of being meticulous and striving for perfection in everything you do would apply as well as an impetus on cost saving, this reflect the companies culture.

During store time it can be quite challenging with people of all ages and background mixing. Therefore you have to draw the line between friendship and professionalism. During the head office part the atmosphere is pleasant and everything has a place and shiny finish. The people who work at head office, so the office staff are really nice. However it is important to remember that it is the complete opposite to a challenging store environment and many of the staff here have not worked in a store,

The plan we were given was stuck to on the whole, with very few deviations. We would have regular updates and the plan dates were always honored. However it is important to add that you can pick your own holidays despite them being planned for you initially.

Aldi is very much throw you in at the deep end, sink or swim like. You are expected to pick up the store management stuff fast and learn as you go. Do not expect someone to ask if you have been trained on something you have to take the lead and ensure that you are trained not your manager, that's just the way it is. We did go on an ecological advanced driver course which was beneficial. However again the onus is on you to develop and probe ideas forward. However I think I would of found training on conflict management, heath and safety and first aid really beneficial.

It is made very clear to you from day one that Aldi would like IP's to be future area managers for cost saving benefits as well as the added bonus of a years experience with the company. So do well, impress, say the right things don't upset nobody and there's a good chance you will be invited back to apply as a graduate.

There is no social scene amongst fellow placement students. Mainly due to geographical reasons, you can be based far away from colleagues. This is a real negative of the placement.

I lived at home so I saved money that way. The tunnel can prove costly however I'm sure you could have negotiated a tunnel tag from the transport department! Close to head office there a nice pubs and restaurants.

Liverpool, Manchester and Chester are all close by, just a 20min train ride so nights out can be easily accessible. However you will be working weekends in store so you probably wont be partying much anyway during your first half of the placement.

We played football twice with the area managers and director but apart from two work conferences there was no social scene. No 5-a side or society type events, this was not offered or existing for IP's. Maybe a future IP could implment this?