Commercial Apprentice Review

My role has been very varied throughout the length of my course. The structure of which requires me to move between HR, Supply Chain, Marketing and Sales over a 2 year period (6 months in each). As a result, I have had very different roles. In supply chain I was an intermarket supply planner, in HR I was part of the employee changes team, in marketing I was assigned to the AERO brand. Finally, I have recently joined Sales and am working as an account executive on the Booker Retail Partner account.

I have developed many skills during my time on the course. The top one that I have developed would be my communication skills. This entails how I communicate with my colleagues and how to manage stakeholders expectations as well as vastly improving my presentation skills both through my university modules and in the workplace. Nestle also provide training courses, for example, I undertook a 'Brand Building the Nestle Way' when I was in marketing, which helped me understand the hidden parts of marketing and understand the thinking behind advertising campaigns and brand stories.

Very much so, it has opened a lot of doors for me, both in my personal and professional life. Being on the course has allowed me to purchase my own house and car which has vastly improved the quality of my life. I mostly enjoy working, but as expected it is demanding and the days are quite long. The people culture is very welcoming and being a part of the Nestle academy has seen me gain many friends. Weeks away at university are particularly enjoyable, with my cohort.

I do feel valued by my immediate team and my line manager, but sometimes it is hard to feel fully appreciated on a wider scale; perhaps this is due to the sheer size of the organisation. In the past I have received recognition which makes me feel valued, however, these are few and far between.

The programme is very well organised as all our hotels etc. are booked in advance for university. There is constant communication between the academy, our line managers and SHU so that you always have a goal to work towards. We recently attended Thornebridge, an outdoor adventure park as part of one of our university modules. This is a good example of the organisation provided by Nestle.

The support provided from Sheffield Hallam University doesn't match that from Nestle. But I do think that this is due to the time spent with the respective organisations. We are told that we have on-going support from SHU and have been in contact previously, however it does feel like we are bothering them when we reach out to them.

In one word: substantial. We have the ability to undergo training within our roles externally as well as from our immediate team and managers. In addition, we have the academy and an assigned pastoral care manager as well as one provided by the university. As a result I feel like there is sufficient support.

Being from York, my salary just about reaches my requirements, however I do feel as though I am underpaid. If I were to work in the Gatwick offices, for the extra £1,000, I don't feel like I would have enough to live on.I know this to be the case for some of the cohort members who do work down south.

There are yes, but mainly due to the individuals in the academy, not actually provided by Nestle. My colleagues and I have organised football on a Monday evening after work, but the link to Nestle is as far as that goes. None of the equipment or funding is provided by Nestle. As Nestle look to push a health and wellness agenda, I feel as though they could provide more opportunities for exercise and sporting events in the local area. They do provide us with 2 days 'off' in which we can do volunteer work, which is a good initiative.

Yes

I feel like they do provide a great stepping stone to a young person early in their career and do look to develop talent. The experiences that you can gain whilst working here can be utilised elsewhere and I think that working at Nestle will help you decide on your future career, whether it would be at Nestle or not. It is great for development and they do provide the means to do so if you are willing.

As I'm sure you would have heard this before; but be yourself and don't worry too much about your qualifications etc. Nestle look very much into the person that you are, so it is important during your application process that you are yourself, or this could come back and bite you. Be confident and remember that even the big bosses are just human and many are welcoming of young talent and seek to gain new insights off you.