Supply Chain Apprentice Review

As a second year procurement apprentice, I am in my 2nd placement. This role is operational. I am responsible for sourcing packaging for 2 plants in Europe. I check prices, track supplier performance, help with quality issues and am a main point of escalation. I speak with many internal stakeholders and work alongside many different suppliers. I support projects for any small - large change in packaging.

I am currently studying towards a degree in Business Management and Leadership. This has allowed me to link what I do in my day to day to theory. I have improved my interpersonal communication skills by working closely with many different people across different cultures and worked through some language barriers. I have expanded my knowledge in many areas of Procurement and understand proper negotiation.

I really enjoy my programme. The people are great to work with and are very supportive. I always feel like my colleagues want me to succeed and will do everything in their power to make sure I do. It has exceeded all my expectations. The team are really kind and always patient with me.

Within Procurement, my mentor and support team are amazing. I am given lots of support and they make sure I have some great opportunities. They understand I need some support with my degree and CMI qualification. They work with my managers to make sure they understand how things works. The placements are organised well and it is clear where my next step will be. The wider early careers team aren't as supportive. I wasn't inducted via the early careers team and was often not included in early careers meetings. This has since been improved but I had a negative experience here.

From a procurement perspective, my managers are very supportive. They understand that I need additional support and have regularly 121s with me. My mentor has been amazing. She really looks after me and clearly wants the best for me. They do everything they can to support me and are always there if I have any questions or concerns. Again, the wider early careers support needed some improvement when I first joined. I have since noticed an improvement.

To begin with, the support from my skills coach was very slow. I needed to wait for my monthly meetings to be able to ask any questions or raise any concerns. This has improved and she is very helpful. The admin team are helpful and are always there to ask questions. I enjoy the degree aspect and they always listen to feedback.

The great thing about the degree is that everything I learn links really well to my role. Many of my assignments I write about work situations and analyse them. This is great for my learning and improving critical thinking as I consider what I could have done better. It provide theoretical examples for real life situations. It isn't specific to my industry but everything I learn can be applied to my job.

I have supported in charity bake sales and helped decorate hospitals for Christmas. I have volunteered to support with interview practice for secondary school students. There is an onsite gym in which you can become a member. There are many local community initiatives that you can volunteer to support with. The Christmas party is always fun too.

Yes

It is a great company to work for. The roles are very diverse and there are lots of opportunities to learn. The people are very knowledgeable and supportive. I feel that I will have a great future at the company and I very rarely get treated as a junior.

The application process isn't as long as other schemes. The telephone interviews aren't too much pressure, it often feels like a chat. The assessment days are tough but try to show off your personality. Ask any questions you may have and make sure you make a note of anything you would like to know. The onboarding process can be tiring as you are learning a lot, but make sure you get introduced to other member's of early careers. This will help a lot.