Supervisor/ Team Leader Review

Day to day was typical retail roles: opening up the shop, safe check, cash handing, team management, stock managment, etc. it was a slow journey to get to that point, the apprenticeship team were very passionate about training and learning, however the store management didn’t share those same values sadly.

I’ve definitely developed new skills in terms of how to manage a team, cash handing & overall retail experience. My confidence has also grown due to the apprenticeship as I’ve learnt all the background information behind the supervisor apprenticeship. Overall I have definitely made progress in my time with the company.

The apprenticeship program was amazing, it was well structured and that was always well communicated to apprentices. However the management team I was being trained by hindered this enjoyment quite a bit; they were reluctant to train me when there were outstanding tasks to be complete (which was quite often), I didn’t really feel like my qualification was a priority due to the store team. It felt quite a problem to schedule in my training (1 hour weekly off the shop floor) this was rarely given and quite often done in my own time. However the overall apprenticeship team were very on the ball with regards to sorting issues like these, it’s just a shame the store team management were not on board.

The structure of the programme was really good. The first 12 weeks I completed a hand book, allowing me to be a key holder and complete all managerial tasks. Again the management team only trained me in tasks they saw as necessary and convenient, rather than the training list given to me by the apprentice team. Again the apprenticeship team were amazing with the layout and help they provided: inc visits from my assessor and work shops allowing me to learn from other apprentices.

Not very much, they would do the bare minimum in regards to training. I did not receive the support I felt was necessary for my training. There definitely could have been more planning and consideration from my employer, I felt like I was essentially another til body for the most part of my apprenticeship.

The training from the apprenticeship team was amazing. My assessor went above and beyond to help me and maximise my results. He was also available within his own time to help me with any assignment work, or any work issues I was having, I couldn’t recommend them more, they were all so lovely and helpful

I definitely think my training was great through my training provider (all my modules completed with my assessor) they went into great detail with all topics, given me lots of transferable knowledge about the business and retail management as a whole, i believe it’s this training that has been the reason for my results

There isn’t really anything extra curricular, atleast that I am aware of. I think it’d be a great idea to introduce this, I think it’d be great to introduce face to face options like this, even the face to face with apprentices from across the local area would be great if re introduced

Yes

On the condition that the management team are invested in the apprentice and their training. I feel like it’s very apparent that a lot of stores will accept apprentices on the premise that they’re gaining an extra 4-16 hours per week without this coming out of their budget. However this time is allocated for training but this doesn’t happen

Overall the experience is dependent on the store. I’d recommend visiting store and catching a feeling for the store team and especially the management before making the decision to complete an apprenticeship. It was really fluctuating depending on my store manager and their understanding of the apprenticeship programme. It was quite often that I’d have to explain it to them, I think this training needs to be whittled into area meetings to ensure all store managers are aware of the responsibilities that lay with having an apprentice.