Apprentice Merchandiser and Buyer Review

Merchandising; Admin related: Daily sales - following sales throughout the week. Trade meetings - Analyzing previous weeks sales and deciding next steps. Placing orders on lines and keeping on top of critical paths. Range Plan work - Planning lines and placing them on the systems. Forecasting sales for lines that may need replenishing. Talking with suppliers to find the best dates for production. Strategy planning. Competition shops and more.

My confidence has grown massively from working in a fast paced, retail environment. I have learned many new computer based skills on excel and my knowledge of the retail industry has grown. I have a lot of transferable skills that i can now apply over many different job roles which will be very beneficial to me in the future.

I find the job i am doing extremely interesting, because there are so many different things to do, meaning there is always something new to learn. There are some lulls in the job involving a lot of admin based work but you are contributing to building a whole range that will be displayed in stores so when the plan comes to life, it is very rewarding.

My program is a fairly new program so there are issues with organisation and structure, especially when it comes to a point of call for the program but that is something we know the team are working on improving and it will only get better. But because the apprenticeship is so much like a full tine job, your line manager is the best person to go to for support so there are rarely any issues.

We receive a lot of support form our line managers and head of. They are always encouraging you to book onto training courses and are there to support you in any new learning you want to experience and are always there to support you if you are struggling. We have occasional meetings with our apprenticeship program leader where we can tell her how we are doing and if we have any concerns.

We receive support from our tutor at college, but it is more difficult because we only have a lesson once a fortnight so the interaction we have with our tutor is minimal. We are given 5 study days, however, so we can go into college if we need to and emails are always available so you can email your tutor if you are ever struggling.

I think it helps us perform a lot better in our role because the work we do in class, supports the work we do in our job role. Because we do it everyday, it helps to refresh your memory, especially when it comes to different calculations for merchandising. You learn a lot of information about merchandising and buying and it is very tailored to what you do in you day to day role so you never feel like you are learning things that a re irrelevant.

There is an apprentice and graduate group that runs across F&F and Tesco and we get emails every now and then of different invites and events we can attend, and we also have team days on the odd occasion that you have to attend which are really fun days.

Yes

Because they are a very inclusive and supportive business to work for and there are always different opportunities that you can get involved in to progress your career further whether this be training days or just attending meeting within your day to day job that have the ability to expand you knowledge and skills. Because they are such a big business, there are many different avenues to explore and they are very supportive of this.

Make sure it is something that you are really passionate about and want to do because they recognize that in there interviews and assessments days. Also make sure you prepare well for the assessments days because they are very tough! If you are successful, then you need to be prepared to work in a fast paced environment and be willing to jump in with both feet to gain the full experience. It can be difficult at times, especially with college work added on top but it is definitely worth it!