Global Learning & Development Designer Review

I work as a Global Learning & Development Designer for Boots. I work with various stakeholders across Boots' Global Retail to design learning solutions for beauty colleagues across the globe. Throughout this I project manage the design and implementation plans, ensuring that stakeholders are engaged in the solution and will support with the implementation. Within Boots there are many Beauty Brands and I design learning for No7, Soap & Glory as well as all the General Knowledge beauty information that advisors will find useful. There is never one day that is the same as I am juggling many different designs projects from: creating magazines, leadership training, videos, vlogs, blogs and conferences - so there is always something to keep me on my toes. As there are many stakeholders involved in my work, and it's sometimes high profile, I'm often having to persuade senior leaders and communicate clearly in order for ideas to land successfully within the different markets.

Within my role as a Learning & Development Designer I've become an Accredited Training Practitioner and Visual Designer, which was an external training course that all designers within Boots are encouraged to complete. Personally I've developed my influencing, negotiation and persuasion skills since starting the degree as I've had to focus on this. I think that it'd be good to develop more leadership skills within the final year of the degree programme as there hasn't been much focus on this even though the degree is called 'Business Management & leadership'.

Overall I am enjoying the programme because it links the theory within my day to day work - helping to embed the learning. The team of apprentices are great to work with, as we share thoughts and feelings to support one another on the journey. I feel that as we're the first year to complete this programme there is quite a lot of the "unknown" and sometimes this has led to confusion between what we expect and what is communicated within the university programme. The culture I work in helps with my own development as my line manager is very supportive and understanding, but I do know that there are others on the programme that lack this which indicates that Boots need to communicate the programme better to line managers and have regular interactions with them to ensure that the apprentices are given the support they need.

As Boots are paying for the degree I do feel very valued in this sense, and my personal line manager is very supportive. However, as a whole, I feel that Boots don't value employees as much because, as an apprentice, I've not had the same reward package (pay etc) as some other employees even though I do the same job and to an exceeding standard. This is because Boots don't pay internal colleagues as well as they do externally joining candidates, so I had to fight for 5 years to get up to the minimum pay packet for my job role which leads to the feelings of feel less valued even though my standard of work is great.

As the first year I feel that the programme is reasonably structured. We're often faced with the "unknown" or an overview of what to expect which can be frustrating, especially as we're managing our degree with full time work. The modules are handed in within 4-6 weeks of one another, which is quite tight, especially as we are working and so this sometimes feels like we're "Churning them out" rather than fully researching and planning the module. It feels strange that we have the same time off studying as normal uni students, even though we're still working. I think if we didn't have the summer off, we could have more spread out modules and a longer time to complete them.

We each have a mentor from the university of Nottingham Trent and my mentor has been very friendly and supportive. The tutors vary their support - some being very supportive and available for communications, with others providing little/no support. As we're distance learners, it's useful to have support or a contact at hand for any extra questions as we're unable to drop into the university regularly or speak face to face with tutors

The Apprenticeship team within Boots have been available if we've had questions and have communicated this back to Nottingham Trent to solve any issues.

It's great that Boots are paying for the degree as this means that I won't incur any debts. However, I'm on the same salary as what a new graduate comes into Boots and this doesn't feel right when I've got 5 years working within Boots at the same level that a new graduate joins! I feel Boots under pay a lot of internal colleagues and apprentices definitely are impacted within this. Also Boots don't pay for parking or transport when I visit the university and this often costs over £30 for me as I don't live within Nottingham.

Within Boots there are lots of opportunities to get involved in other activities from charity events, open mic nights and clubs such as Pilates. I am involved in the Pilates group and try to get involved in as many charity projects as I can around my day job.

Yes

Overall it's a very nice company to work for - culture and people really make this business. I would stress that the reward packages are not as good as competitors, as this is often a misconception with Boots.

I would say that you need to showcase your own passion and enthusiasm during the interview and application process. Don't be afraid to push boundaries and challenge "the norm".