Procurement Data Analytics Appretice Review

I am a Data Analyst within Supply Chain as part of a local procurement team for Europe chemicals. In this role I work with sourcing data, building/maintaining databases, finding insights to improve costs and efficiency etc. I also provide support for global supply chain teams with ADHOC queries.

I work mostly with Excel, SAP & PowerBI. I have learnt and developed the skills with these tools and used them to provide support for my colleagues. I also learnt new skills in other software during my appreticeship, including MySQL workbench, R & Tablleau. These are fantastic to put on my CV.

I really enjoy what I do. The work is interesting, engaging and I have learnt a lot from my experiences. The team are very welcoming and supportive, I can always rely on them. The overall experience has been fantastic.

Apprenticeships are widely recognised and valued at Unilever. This is the procurement departments first time taking on apprentices and they have done a really great job with onboarding and support. We are given Fridays to dedicate to studying and have regular meetings to discuss how the apprenticeship is going.

I get a good amount of support from my manager and mentors. My colleagues have been very welcoming and there are numerous resources such as the wellbeing hub to give guidance. The HR team also do a great job of providing support apprentices.

I have monthly meetings with my tutor to talk about my progress and where help is needed. The training provider have a great attitude when providing support for the apprentices and set us goals in which we can develop our new skills e.g. project work, interview skills, using in demand tools for data analytics.

The qualifications and tools give me the skills to be able to provide the best quality work at Unilever, to the best of my ability. I am able to put what I learn from my job and course work into practise. I know a lot more about the FMCG industry, procurement practises and also about the tools of the trade within data analytics than when I first started, with a well rounded depth of knowledge.

There are many extra-curricular activates to be involved in at Unilever. These include: sports, networking events, community pillars, charity fundraisers, social events. I also volunteer with Unilever's apprenticeship outreach program where we go to schools and colleges to talk about Unilever and the apprenticeship programs. Unilever actively encourage everybody to get involved in someway. We also have a couple of office outings per year e.g. days out, meals etc.

Yes

I would recommend an apprenticeship with Unilever because there have a wide array of quality options available. They have run their apprenticeship programmes and consistently place highly in the Rate My Apprenticeship national tables. Unilever highly values their apprentice and provide an excellent level of support and opportunities to lean and grow.

Do your research and get as much details as possible about the company, apprenticeship program and the kind of things you would be doing to prepare for the application process which includes things like a situational awareness test and assessment day. Unilever are most interested in how you are as a person so make sure to be confident and honest in you abelites and experiences. Unilever like diversity, new ideas and confidence in yourself so make sure to actively engage, and if there is something you don't know, be curious and ask as they more than happy to help. Make the most of as many opportunities as you can. Best of luck!