Store apprentice Review

My role is in management at Aldi. I have the same responsibilities as a deputy manager as I am in my second year and my main aim is to direct and guide the store assistants to complete different jobs needed in the store.

I have developed a lot of people skills as I have to communicate within the store to ensure that everyone knows what job needs doing. Also working quickly and efficiently to ensure I can be the most productive I can be at all times is a big skill that is vital to my apprenticeship at Aldi.

I enjoy my apprenticeship very much as it allows me to do different roles and experience different things every day. It is very challenging at times but it pushes me to achieve more goals and hit higher targets as I progress in the company

As I have entered my last year of the apprenticeship, I feel highly valued in my management role. Also as I have been at the company for a few years now, I feel comfortable with all the staff and happy to cooperate with them to achieve our targets.

My program has become a lot more organised and structured recently but the apprenticeship company I originally was with changed so the work I did at first had to be transferred over. This was quite disorganised as their was a lot of confusion but now everything is back on track and my written work has all been completed.

I don’t receive a lot of training from my training provider as usually the store is very busy and training in a lot of detail isn’t always convenient. I have received some training when needed but I have developed most of my skills by mimicking the actions of those around me or above me in the company.

Just like the last question, I haven’t received much training so I can be left confused at some stages of my shifts and when things happen out of the norm. However on a personal level, I feel very well supported as I am comfortable talking with my colleagues and managers if I have any issues as they can provide good advice for what’s best for me.

I feel like my salary meets my cost at the moment as I am young and have little money going out. Also as I am in my last year of the apprenticeship, my wage is at the reasonable amount, however at the beginning it was very low and made meeting my costs very difficult at some points in the year. I feel like as I do the same amount of work as a deputy manager, it is frustrating that I get paid significantly less than them and some store assistants as I am their manager.

There are a few opportunists outside of work but not many. As I work a lot of hours and the job is very physically draining, much life outside of work is quiet and I don’t have many chances to look at all the opportunities on offer. However at Aldi, they have Aldi benefits which can be researched by looking at the new app which offers a range of activities and opportunities for stores to bond and enjoy time outside of work with backing from the company.

Yes

It is an enjoyable job which allows people to experience different things every day and allows a lot of flexibility on what roles can be done. It is a very tiring job as it prides itself on efficiently so it helps keep all staff busy and makes the days go very quickly sometimes. It allows people to make friends within work as a lot of team work and communication is essential to ensure all jobs get done efficiently and to a high standard, which makes the job more enjoyable as well.

Although it may seem like an easy supermarket job, it is very physically demanding and draining as it consists of long shifts where you may be on your feet for 10 hours or sitting on a till which can be tedious. As Aldi is a job which means the staff all need to be able to be trained on all roles of the store, it can be overwhelming trying to achieve your targets on every sector of the store.