Work Experience Coordinator - HR Apprentice Review

I work within Boots Head Office, in their Talent Programmes Team. I am the coordinator for Boots' Work Experience schemes. This includes organising our Work Inspiration scheme, whereby 100 students aged 14-19 visit our Head Office for a week. I also organise placements for individuals of any age, all year round who are looking for Work Experience in one of our departments in Head Office. I also organise and help out with various events that our HR department is involved with such as career fairs, supplier’s fairs and e-book launches.

As I am only a few months into my programme, I haven't learnt lots of skills to begin with. However I have learnt how to create a visual power point, create contacts within a large organisation, organise my dairy and fit into such a large HR team.

I really enjoy my programme as I love the role I am currently in and have wanted to work within a HR department for so long. I already feel very settled at work as the team are so friendly and welcoming and Boots' culture is laidback and relaxed.

I feel very valued at Boots as I feel they are fully behind young people at work, as they believe young people can bring in new ideas and enthusiasm. They constantly involve apprentices in meetings and projects and offer us many opportunities and chances for improvement. I believe that the fact Boots offer all apprentices a full time, permanent job at the end of our Apprenticeship Scheme highlights their commitment, trust and loyalty towards us. It also makes us feel more secure within our roles.

Our programme is well structured. We each have a line manager within our teams and we work on flexitime. We attend work Mon-Fri for 37.5 hours a week and we attend college for 4 hours on a Thursday afternoon. All upcoming dates and apprenticeship events are communicated to us in advance so we can plan it into our weeks.

Our Tutor from Babington Business College is extremely helpful and fair. She works on the basis that if a student hands their assignments in on time and asks for help in advance she will do everything she can to support that student. She will work her training styles to match each students learning styles.

Everyone in my team and the HR team are very friendly. I couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome and supported within work. Especially as I moved away from my home and family, I needed that support and guidance and I feel I received more than I could ever expect. I feel very lucky to be in such a great and friendly team

I am on a 15,000 salary and it does meet my costs. I have had to receive extra help from my family to help pay for my rent as I am new to the area and living on my own. If the salary was any lower I would defiantly not have been able to relocate on my own. I am aiming to hopefully receive a pay rise to help pay for my costs and hopefully not have to rely on monetary payments from my family. I also feel there are not as many benefits offered to apprentices as what there are offered to university students. For example there is no council tax reductions offered to apprentices whereas university students pay no council tax.

There are many opportunities outside of work to meet up with my friendly local community and neighbours. I also meet up outside of work with other apprentices and work colleagues. I feel I have a better social life than some of my friends at University and I am in a Job and getting paid at the same time which is a definite bonus!

Yes

Boots is a great company to work for as they are a very understanding and caring business, which takes everyone’s skills and qualities on board and will offer each individual many great opportunities and chances for career development. It is a very friendly and warm environment to work within.

Before you apply to Boots ensure your C.V is relevant and reflects your personality. A C.V must stand out so ensure all your grades are up to date and you include as much work experience as possible. Try to gain Work experience prior to applying, as I believe work experience is vital in helping students to stand out of the crowd in an interview process. Be prepared for your telephone interview and assessment day, by writing notes, taking documents to the interview e.g. references and practice interview/presentation techniques at school or at home with family and friends.