Procurement Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement experiences, especially my last 6 months. I have gained so much from my year placement which has improved my self awareness, confidence and professional communication skills. It has enabled me to understand the dynamics of an office environment and really learn the skills required to help develop your career in the future, My first 6 months were initially challenging learning the role and my place in the team but this experience is a real learning curve.

The team I worked amongst in Procurement were a great support network for me. I got to work with a large number of people, circa 70 in the whole team, and so I have gained some great learnings and experience from the team. I have received great advice which I can take forward in the future. I have also had support from a mentor type figure which has been a very valuable support network as a young professional.

I have had support from my line manager, a mentor figure (a senior member of the team) and a buddy ( member of the team of similar level). These three main support networks combined provide a good support network and opportunity to go to different individuals within the team for different levels of support.

In Procurement the workload fluctuates because it is project based, In my first 6 months most of the work load was support work on projects and so I found it personally not challenging enough and I prefer more structured workload. However as time went on I gained more responsibility and moved into an operational team in Procurement which was very fast pace and had plenty of opportunity for me to project manage certain areas.

By the end of my placement I was able to manage projects and run internal workshops for the team. I also have run my own sourcing tender process. As the year progressed I was able to gain more trust and with that comes responsibility from the team. I would of liked more responsibility at an earlier stage and found it quite challenging to ensure the team I was happy to take on such responsibility at such an early stage.

I developed most of my learnings through working with people and experience. I have been exposed to working with a wide variety of people across the team which has been really valuable and a great insight into different peoples ways of workings. I have also attended some internal training courses in negotiation and iFinance systems and an external team building training course. The majority of training is on the job, I would of like more opportunity for more external training courses.

The team are very friendly and Procurement sit in Partnership Services, the business centre of John Lewis and Waitrose, so there is lots going on and plenty of team building days throughout the year. Overall, the vibe is very welcoming and everyone is accomodating from day one.

Overall there are a vast range of placements offered across John Lewis and Waitrose. All of these provide a different insight into the business and are a great opportunity, The placement in Procurement when I joined was not very organised because the team had just been through a restructure. I have fed this feedback back and the scheme has been developed since then.

There are 4 placement student training days throughout the year. All of these offer the opportunity to develop your communication skills, interview skills and presentation skills, The team also have monthly best practice learning workshops and internal training courses run by subject matter experts so there is training to get involved in. However, more external training would make the scheme stronger.

The company is a great place to work for its benefits, values and unique culture. It is great that every Partner has the opportunity to share ideas and have a voice. As a major retailer there is also a great buzz and atmosphere to the company. It is hard to fault when comparing its values and principles across the other major retailers.

There are plenty of social clubs and societies offered at the Partnership. The team itself also have team days and nights out which is great fun because it is a mixed age group so makes it very social and means lots of different events are organised,

Bracknell where Waitrose Head Office is located is where most of the placements are based is reasonable in terms of cost of living. Travel expenses to London are also covered. Reading and London are the nearby areas for nightlife and socialising.

The area I worked in would go out every now and then. It was not frequent, only for occasions which makes the nights out quite fun and social and lots of people make the effort to attend.

There are plenty of clubs and societies to get involved in both Bracknell and London. Every week new offers are advertised and all the clubs are very welcome to new members,