Industrial Placement Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my year with Aldi. Over the space of the year my role has changed considerably, from spending time in stores being entrusted to manage and lead an innner city store to spending time in numerous departments, completeing a variety of projects.

From day one I felt valued and instantly made to feel at ease. The sheer fact I was given the opportunity to manage two stores, both with over 40 employees shows the levels of responsbility the company entrust you with. This to me was one of the greatest aspects of the placement, and following this the levels of responsbillity have not decreased since spending time in Head Office completing numerous important projects and reporting directly to directors at all times.

As part of the placement scheme you are asinged a mentor area manager for the entire duration of the year who is your point of contact if you need any assistance or guidance. During my first two weeks I spent time with my mentor and after working in their stores for the store management aspect of the placement you develop a strong working relationship with this individual. In addition, you are assigned an operations director who acts as your personel leader for the year and quartely updates are arranged to discuss your performance and offer any assistance. Support and guidance is continually offered throughout the year whether this is in store with your management team, to area managers to any assistances; everyone is always prepared to help and assist you in any way they can.

The placement definitely keeps you busy, however this is why I particulary enjoyed it as I love to keep busy and occupied. The store time of the placement is intense and testing at times however it depends how you manage your time. Finding the perfect balance between work and life is very important.

The responsibility obtained throughout this placement year is second to none. When discussing my role with friends and comparing their experiences they cannot believe what I have been entrusted with. At such a young age I never expected to be trusted with such levels of responsbility, especially managing large teams who are alot older than myself, however this definitely enabled my management skills to flourish and I have learnt so much about myself and my skills.

I have been able to put my theoritcal knowledge learnt during my first two years at univeristy to practice. My time management skills have improved and I have seen my assignment results for univeristy this year improve as I am able to apply real life, practical experiences to my evaluations.

My placement was split between store time and head office. My time in store was brilliant, largely due to a positive working environment and great team morale. I never felt like I was a hassle and everyone was always more than willing to assist and this made my days very enjoyable. Due to the size and scale of the company, the head office is a corporate environment; however this is what I would expect. Everyone in the office is extremely friendly and polite and always willing to help.

When I signed my contract two weeks before starting my placement I was handed my training plan for the year. This timeline highlighted all of my week’s holiday, store time, and when I would begin any project work. Although the schedule wasn’t followed 100% due to new opportunity’s emerging, and time in certain departments extending, the overall placement was well organised and I was always well informed of any changes that would take place.

I believe the company has invested a lot in my training and development. My first store time of 12 weeks moving from store assistant level to assistant manager meant my store manager invested countless hours in training me up to his required standard. He took time out of his hectic schedule to prioritise my training and I believe the company is very keen to ensure this happens. I also spent numerous weeks with my area manager mentor who helped expand on my training and offer insights into the graduate role.

Extremely appealing, throughout the year you work alongside numerous area managers and gain a true insight into their role. The opportunities for any young person at Aldi are fantastic and now, nearing the end of my year I am keen to progress onto the graduate scheme

I developed brilliant working relationships with my fellow placement students. Due to geographical locations of all Aldi regions, meeting other placements students across the UK was very difficult. However the Aldi acadamy arranged two 'meet ups' which allowed all placements students to meet and discuss our expectations and plans which was very useful in gaining contacts across the UK.

I was able to stay living at home throughout the year and therefore this was not an issue.

Again, I was able to stay at home and therefore this did not change.

Due to the demands and complexity of the area manager role it is enourmously difficult to arranage events around the busy working week. I have participated in two Aldi summer events whereby all area managers and operations directors take part in various sporting/leisure activities before an evening meal. This event is a brilliant networking opportunity when you start the placement and a great way to meet area managers of whom you would not meet on a daily basis. In addition, a netball group has recently been set up by one area manager to encourage out of office activities. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the opportunities offered.