apprentice store assistant Review

i take on the role of "store assistant" which is different depending on the time of my shift and what tasks are yet to complete. I generally am based on the till which involves serving customers and dealing with specials cases such as returning items or reporting faulty goods. I also deal with putting stock out on the shelves including all departments of the store.

Being put in a sometimes heavily stressful environment has helped improve many of my skills including: patience, ability to multi-task and prioritise tasks and ability to deal with customers that have a low English speaking level. as well as gaining a qualification in retail skills this job has taught me many personal skills that are necessary in moving up to management level.

i enjoy the team i work with and although I am technically an apprentice, nobody seemed to treat me any different or as a subordinate which was very nice. although having less money than my other colleagues is irritating i know that this is what the apprenticeship experience is.

I feel as much a part of the team as everyone else I was working with. The management teams were all very considerate of any study time I needed or if I came for help during a project I was working on. some customers noticed that my badge had "apprentice" on it and commented asking what that entails and often said that i was working at a high level above what my technical status was.

my initial training was very intense and had a lot involved. I enjoyed this as it gave me something to really get my teeth into. I felt as though I had all the support necessary and always had someone who I could ask for help or guidance on. however, i found that the college i was working with (Manchester college) was not organised at all. they lost my details and had no record of me even being a student with them.

each visit i felt i received the necessary information and guidance to complete the next part of my coursework or exam. i didn't struggle with any of the exams or parts of the course so i never needed additional support.

Aldi as a business do take into account the personal factors that may effect how I worked. one example was that I travelled by bus to work and they would consider this especially on a Sunday and evenings when the buses would be difficult to get for me. The management team were always supportive of any issues that arose and tried to accommodate me.

As I do not have any people that depend on me and still live with parents I had no trouble with my salary. Of course it played on my mind that I was doing the same job as some of my colleagues and being payed less but this was a sacrifice i took for the benefits it will give me in the long run. I couldn't complain as it is based much higher than the minimum apprentice wage anyway.

personally i would have liked to have done more than 25 hours a week and i felt that my time off work was wasted. because of the way that Aldi does its rota and gives people hours i wasn't able to get a second job as there was no set hours i knew i would be free.

Yes

On the whole they are a great company to work for. you work hard for what you do and often feel as though it isn't worth the pay, but i got huge job satisfaction from what i did.

Be yourself, if your aren't customer or people orientated this is not the place to be. initial training and studying is difficult but that's because aldi pushes people to be the best.