Degree Apprentice Review

My current role within Morrisons is a checkout team leader. However during my time in this role I am learning a lot about other aspects of retail business and how to develop not only my customer service skills but also how to most efficiently communicate with a team. This role effectively involves supervising and managing the checkouts in your store.

During my time at Morrison's I have developed a lot of new skills, some examples of these skills include: time management - since I started at Morrison's I have found that I am able to work a lot more efficiently. A second example of a skill I developed was my communication skills, it is vital to be able to communicate when working in a team, and being in one at Morrisons allows for these skills to improve.

I really enjoy the program as it allows me to meet and communicate with like minded individuals. I also like the fact that it allows me to slowly build up my skill set overtime, which, in turn means that I do not have all the pressure on me straight away.

The program initially had good structure and the plan was to go round each department in the store, go into our first supervisor role and then go into a management role. However as of current there is a lot of uncertainty about where the next step for everyone is and it can add extra stress to decisions that will need to be made.

I receive plenty of support. If I ever have any issues I always have someone to go to about it. I also really appreciate the time that is taken by some of the more senior member of the business to share their expertise and help us become a better version of ourselves.

I received a lot of support and guidance from both my lecturers and learning advisors. They are very accommodating to the work that I do and do all they can to fit what the teach to us to what we do on a day to day basis. Overall could not ask for anything more.

I feel that there is a great correlation between what we learn in university and the day to day activities that I carry out. For example we do essays on finance which allows me to educate myself into my Business's current financial state. As well as this we do reports on current world affairs which allow me to gain insight into how this affects my business.

Bi- yearly, to this point we have got the opportunity to go down to our businesses headquarters and see what happens and how the business is run, during this time we get to network with all the other apprentices who are doing the same role as yourself. It is good as we can see how we are all getting on and share any ideas we have.

Yes

The reason that I would recommend Morrison's to a friend is because it is a lot more than a job. There is a great community here which allows for long lasting relationships to be built. I also really believe in the goals and visions of the company and I think that is very important when recommending a place to work.

I would offer three pieces of advice. The first being make sure you know what you're applying for - it is not an easy job but with the correct mindset it can be extremely rewarding. The second is reach out to others who may be applying, if you meet someone through an assessment centre or interview get to know them as they will probably help you along your journey and become a good friend. Finally I was say to enjoy it, there will be tough times but that is the same in every job, there is so many great things to take away from this business so grab it with both hands.