Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship Review

I am a charted management degree apprentice with Nestle which involves rotating between HR, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing spending 6 months in each function. This allows me to understand and get a feel for each function to broaden my business understanding and help me make informed choices on my career path. I am tasked with projects and day to day work within each function, in order to get a deep understanding and an ability to meet relevant stakeholders.

Throughout my degree programme i have learnt a range of skills which i can relate directly inot work, and i can also relate my work experiences to my degree assignments allowing for more relevant discussions. I also undertake a range of courses with Nestle, such as 'Presenting with Impact' which helps me develop skills that will help me within my career and have practical implications.

I really enjoy my programme with Nestle and i get a great deal of job satisfaction through it as i learn new skills, and a new function every 6 months. The teams that i am placed in are really supportive of the programme, and both the aspects of my degree learning along with my on the job learning yet they are also able to challenge me if needed. The company culture is really friendly, which helps with the level of support when starting new roles.

Within each of my roles I have gained recognition both from my line manager, and teams when I have achieved good results or got involved with projects. There is a great recognition programme which leads to recognition in larger forums and allows you to feel valued as a member of a function or larger team.

Our programme is really well organised as it has been running for a few years now and so they have really gained an insight into what works well for us. We are given suitable inductions into the company when we start, but also into each function to allow us to get off to the best start possible. Our training and studying is structured and outlined to us early so that we are able to be flexible around this, and we are given mentors and buddies to help us settle into the company and give support.

We gain a suitable amount of support from our training provider. The support when we are at University is great and we feel that we can have good discussions and ask as many questions as we need. However sometimes when we leave University we do not gain results within the given time frame, or particularly detailed feedback which can limit our development.

We gain a large amount of support from our line managers and teams that we are put inot as they have a great understanding of our scheme and the structure we have. This allows us to develop and be challenged. We are also assigned mentors within the business to help us, and buddies who have previously been on the scheme to allow us to settle in and ask for guidance.

Our salary does cover costs, however the possibility of moving out to be closer to work is currently not possible whilst taking account of travel and daily costs. Despite this, the location of the office is quite central so it is easy to reach through public transport if you are unable to do my private transport which lowers costs.

Nestle holds exercise classes after work which allows for networking alongside health and wellness. Also the Nestle Academy is made up of all of the employees who are in a scheme such as an apprenticeship or graduate scheme and they often have social events which you can get involved in and it is also a great support network.

Yes

They are a great employer, offering us great experiences within functions, with the ability to try out a range of roles to see what suits us best. We are supported throughout the whole programme, both from our teams and our mentoring and buddy network. The Nestle Academy also gives an additional support network with peers which gives us the chnace to gain honest advice with the work/study balance.

The application process is quite rigorous, however the best advice is to be yourself and get your personality through wherever possible. Nestle are interested in you as a person and your ability to interact with others. Make sure you're prepared, but don't worry too much as there is support every step of the way.