Industrial Placement Review

I have enjoyed working for Aldi. There are some days which are tough as with all jobs but the days where you see improvement and gain more responsibility makes it all the more worth it.

I felt very valued by my colleagues as I worked from the lower postions all the way to a senior management level therefore allowing colleagues to see my dedication and therefore gaining respect.

I was given a high level of support, although this may have been improved if there was more structure to the training plan.

I was kept very busy on a daily basis which I enjoyed as there were many new challenges I was facing in store and at head office whilst completing the various projects I had been assigned.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility from an early stage of my placement. This included becoming an Assistant Store Manager of an inner city Birmingham store, which also involved me running a store when the store manager was not present. Also during the busy Chirstmas period I was in store managing the store team to achieve high sales and succesful results under immense pressure.

The training I have recieved will assist me In the writing of my dissertation whilst also improving ; communcations skills, confidence, time management and also my working ethic. Having being placed outside my comfort zone on various occasions I am now more comfortable in taking on difficult tasks or being placed into a new enviroment.

The general atomsphere in the office was very proffesional most of the time as Aldi is a very proffesional and smart company. Although the staff would aalways make you feel welcome and including myself in various birthday plans.

The overall set up of the placement was very good although at times the structure due to date clashes or new projects arising did change. The feedback I have given to the training department has been taken on board and will be used to develop the placement for future years.

The company has invested a vast amount of money into myself in terms of salary however the responisbilty given to me and the trsut placed in my abilities to run a store from ordering stock to people management has been great. The development of skills I have picked up just by being in the regular company of seniopr management and even directors has been ideal for my personal development.

In the coming weeks I will be having a meeting with my store operations director to review the year and also find out whether Aldi would like for me to complete my degree and then come back on the Graduate scheme in order to become an Area Manager. The comments and feedback so far have been very positive.

As Aldi have a tough placement requiring a fair amount of hours to be worked, also with other commitments such as gym and university work the social scene was not a top priority.

I lived at home therefore I had minimal living costs, the main costs I inccured were petrol costs to and from work.

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