Commercial Apprentice Review

The Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship puts students in HR, sales, marketing, and supply chain for 6 months each, and then specialise in one of them for the final year. Alongside that, attend university in week blocks to gain a degree in Professional Business practice. Right now I'm in HR, running a few of the training courses which is primarily admin work, and organising dates with facilitators etc.

Undergraduate degree in Professional Business Practice Microsoft Excel Specialist Insights training course internally Sensory taste testing training internally Gained skills in event management

Work is quite mundane. They say you won't be printing the whole time but there is a fair bit of printing. I've worked with a range of people (moreso in HR, marketing are all pretty similar). The company culture is as I expect all big companies are.

If I got a bonus/pay rise, I would feel more valued. We do get a Christmas hamper though, which is nice. There are chances to recognise others internally and be recognised, and in exceptional circumstances for rewards. Some teams involve the student in more responsibility-heavy tasks/proajects, while others give admin work out. This means that the experience of a department and overall enjoyment depend heavily on what team you are in.

Structured well. There is an introductory period in a Hotel for a week, and then you get put into four 6 month placements, then specialise for a year, and then have to stay on for another two. You are given a 'buddy' which is someone in the year above to talk to and ask for any advice, and also a more senior member of the business as a 'mentor'. My HR team is structured well, but in marketing there was unnecessary amounts of hierarchy - 4 tiers in a 7 person team. The study blocks at uni are well organised and we are always given an assignment to work on afterward.

Our tutors at uni are always available via email, and give feedback on assignments and presentations usually. They are helpful and generally understanding that we work full time as well as studying (except in the pre-module work!)

My boss is always happy to help, and my buddy is great. Unfortunately my mentor is located at a different site so that's inconvenient. We do get support but if you disagree with your boss, it's unclear what to do.

The salary is not quite enough to afford a place on one's own, especially in York, but aside from that meets travel and living costs - £16,000 up north and £17,000 for those based down south. My salary is fairly low, but I agreed to that when I started, with the offer of it going up for the second and third year, and up considerably in the fourth year to be on par with graduates since we will have degrees by then. Most of the people in my year have received the first pay rise except me, as it turns out they don't have to give one and say it is 'permormance related' I've just found out. Since my old boss didn't like me, they gave a poor rating (it is very subjective from boss to boss) and that stopped any pay rise, which is unfair because I work the longest hours. A similar thing happened with the bonus - most received one and I didn't, which puts me about £850 behind my peers and even more behind the ones based down south who get paid £1,000 more. This does not fill me with confidence, as you can imagine, for any future pay rises I had been told of.

The 'academy' of young people have lots of social events - moreso in York. Company occasionally organise a meal out or drinks, and very occsionally do volunteering work nearby. In York there are a couple of exercise classes, and a bus goes into the city centre. A couple of places give Nestle discounts, like 2-for-1 cocktails.

No

The main reasons are as follows: Inconsistent treatment of different apprentices, especially regarding pay and bonuses, and smaller opportunities. Terrible work-life balance - 40+ hours a week and several more of assignments, often two assigments, and around a 10,000 word project over Christmas. Also disagree with some of the company's actions outside of my work - regarding privatising water etc.

If they were to apply, I'd say that the inerviews and assessment centres look at your personality more than anything, so be nice and be yourself.