Industrial Placement Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Aldi. From the first day till the last day. Every day was different. I spent time in numerous departments that make the business. I was never bored and always on the go.

Extremely valued. For the first 6 months I spent time in Stores. From day one I was welcomed into the Store and valued like any other member of staff. Due to my training being intense and quick I was soon part of the management team. I felt that all employees understood my job role and respected it. I then spent 5 months in Head Office. During this time I helped out the administration staff by completing projects for them, therefore the team valued my time and effort that went into them.

During the first 6 months in Store I felt I had excellent guidance from Store Management and the Regional Director team. Although I did not have any major problems throughout I felt I had somewhere to go to if an issue was to occur. Whilst in Head Office this guidance and support continued. I had multiple personal updates with the Director Team. Having these updates really gave me the motivation and incentive to go back to work and preform even better.

Exceptionally busy! Whether it was in Store or at Head Office, there was no time to put your feet up. Whilst at Stores the work was a lot more physical, at Head Office it was mentally demanding. In fact the past 11 months have gone in a flash. In Stores I worked on average 50 hours a week including weekends. In Head Office I worked 8am-4.30pm, Monday to Friday but I also invested a lot of my own time to the company so that any work I had to complete was of a high standard.

I was running the show, literally! After a few months training, I had the keys to a multi-pound business. I was technically an Assistant Manager of a Store but on most occasions I was the highest member of management in the Store. The weekend before Christmas I ran a Store for a full weekend. This really put all the training I had received to the test. Whilst at Head Office I was given an abundant amount of projects. Projects that had a real impact on the company.

From the extensive training plan to the regular feedback and reviews, Aldi has invested a huge amount of time and effort into my development. As a result I have constantly grown and developed new skills which will be hugely beneficial. Having shown that I could handle the demanding pace of the Store environment and efficient working practices inherent within Aldi I have gained copious amount of skills and knowledge that will transfer into all aspects of life and in my opinion I have developed greatly as a person during the placement. The demands of the Aldi training scheme has developed a very strong work ethic which, not only will be very useful for my final year of university but has shown me how much I can achieve. I have a better understanding and can relate to real life experiences instead of an example in a text book.

Hardworking but never dull.

From the extensive training plan to the regular feedback and reviews, Aldi has invested a huge amount of time and effort into my development. As a result I have constantly grown and developed new skills which will be hugely beneficial.

I felt that over the past year I have performed to a high standard. The Directors will sit down and review my portfolio and make a decision soon.

Due to working long hours, in the evening and the weekends I preferred to recharge my batteries for the following week. Therefore the social scene was not great.

Due to my placement being in the North of England the cost of living was reasonable.

I never ventured into any clubs during my time on placement. I did not know the area well and did not have any friends living near me.

Team Events and Christmas Parties.