48 Week Sandwich Placement Student Review

I have really enjoyed the placement and if I had my time again I would definitely choose Lidl. There were times when I became bored and unchallenged by the role but its down to you to push yourself in the direction you want to go.

I was lucky in that the majority of staff I came across, in store, warehouse, property etc, were all really friendly and welcoming. A few were resentful due to the experiences placement students have (i.e. head office, warehouse) as they haven't experienced them. It was nice to be able to inform the staff of why things are done in a certain way.

Both my head office contact and district manager were available to help me if I had any questions, queries or problems I couldn't solve myself.

In-store there is no time to be bored. There is a constant flow of tasks to be done due to staffing levels which keeps the workplace interesting. The jump from Sales to Property is a large one as the workplace seems less pressured.

Responsibility is given from Day 1, even little things like checking the quality of fruit and veg and dates on meat and poultry. Within a few months I was taking keys home for the store and the safe, and carrying out the management responsibilities throughout the shift. At first its very daunting to delegate tasks out to people who are older than you and more experienced but it becomes like second nature with practice. Independent tasks were assigned to me throughout my District Manager training and whilst in Property, both areas of which I have no experience. Trust is put in you from Day 1 and in turn they expect a lot.

I think the skills I have learnt will remain with me throughout life and be taken to any employment after the year. They are invaluable and I feel my skills would not have been developed the same had I been successful anywhere else. Confidence, communication, numeracy, time management, people management, health and safety, conflict and disputes - all these can now be transferred to either a different post inside Lidl or externally with another company.

There's never a dull moment in store due to the low numbers of staff, the customers, the general day to day tasks that need to be carried out and the staff you work with. Ideally you'd be placed in stores like I was where everyone got on well and you could have banter with your colleagues.

I think the organisation of the placement was overall well organised. The placement book contains all the information for both myself and my superiors, but not enough people had copies of the book before I arrived, so they were unprepared and didn't really know what to do with me sometimes. Some of the regions had different experiences and chances to others, but on the whole I was impressed with how smooth things ran.

I think the company has invested a lot of time, effort and money in to myself throughout the 48weeks. Store management took their time to train me up to a high standard following procedure in a relatively short space of time. Lidl invested the time and money in to me and helped me obtain a personal alcohol licence which can be used outside of Lidl also. Activity reports documenting everyday experiences helped me to develop my communication and working with numerous teams and departments greatly helped my confidence increase massively.

Lidl is a fast paced retailer, and offers many challenging roles. I couldn't imagine not working there to be honest and I would love to join again after I have graduated, with the overall aim of becoming a District Manager of 4-5 stores.

The regular Placement Student meetings held at Leatherhead were really beneficial as it gave us all chance to meet, discuss any problems, share concerns or worries and socialise with people who are experiencing the same things.

I lived at home and commuted to both store and warehouse and regional offices so I found the salary really really good. Travel costs are covered also.

Again I lived at home so socialised on the weekends as there wasn't time for a social life around working hours.

Regular meetings at Leatherhead with the other placement students were really good. Christmas parties held by stores and districts were really good too, as were the District Manager christmas parties where the senior management teams attend. I regret not attending these as it would have given me more time to network and socialise with senior management.