Apprentice Manager Review

I am an apprentice store manager appointed, which involves leading and managing my team, running the store and implementing merchandising changes, and meeting KPIs on a store and area level. I am responsible for recruitment and training within the store, performance management, driving sales and home delivery growth, cost control, and analysing sales data.

I have learnt how to correctly performance-manage staff and when to escalate to the investigation and disciplinary process, as well as how to establish when poor performance is down to lack of training and how best to remedy that. I have also learnt about cost control and how to meet targets for things such as wages, stock loss, internal/external theft, shrinkage, consumables etc.

I’ve really enjoyed learning about some of the topics that are covered in the course, and my trainer has always been friendly and knowledgeable. However, I do find the additional workload frustrating as I already spend 10-18 hours a day at work and am already struggling to maintain a work/home life balance.

The course is very well set out, the website is easy to use and well structured. The appointments with my trainer are frequent enough that I feel like I’m getting enough support and advice from her and she’s always on the end of the phone if I need her.

I feel that I get very little support from my employer in terms of time to do my work, as although my store is funded 3.5 hours a week for me to do it, I’m currently working 90 hour weeks and unable to use the 3.5 hours for what it was designed for.

My trainer has always been very supportive, not just regarding the work but also checking on my well-being and how I’m getting on in my new role. She is always happy to go back and explain anything I’m not sure on and never makes me feel silly for asking questions if I’m confused.

Although I find the work interesting, I have found that most of it isn’t relevant to my specific job role, and the topics that are relevant I already knew from my previous experience in the company. I think the qualification itself is good to have on my CV but seems a little redundant if I’m not actually able to use what I have learnt.

We often do social events at a store level, and also do a yearly area social so the stores are able to meet each other. We are also occasionally invited to various networking opportunities, the most notable was a two day conference at head office where we were invited to meet the directors of the company.

No

The work can be very enjoyable and some of the teams are a lot of fun. However, the company can treat its staff very badly, especially around working hours. For example, I recently had to work a 25 hour shift, which brought my total for the week up to 97, due to a lack of staff in the new store I had been put in and no support from my area. This is by no means an isolated incident, as I know many others who have been put in the same situation. [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyApprenticeship Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions]

Always work with pace and urgency, prioritise, and focus on compliance and availabitly above all else. Treat your team well, and they will be much more loyal and hardworking for you. Follow the company directive rather than trying to go your own way as they are much more experienced. Do whatever it takes to keep the customer happy.