Business & Management
programme in the UK. “We’re really excited to have this new apprenticeship because it provides a very strong talent pipeline of trainee store managers, particularly when we’re looking at growth and opening new stores,” enthuses Wheatley. “We’re going to have lots of opportunities for our apprentices in future.”
Lidl, the discount retailer, has just launched a new retail degree apprenticeship programme and the first intake of over 50 degree apprentices started in September 2024, working in twelve of the company’s regions across the country. “It’s a four-year Level 6
Lidl’s first intake of 50 retail degree apprentices started their apprenticeships in September 2024
apprenticeship that leads to a BSc in Retail Leadership from Kingston University,” explains Jess Wheatley, the emerging talent manager at Lidl.
Study during the apprenticeship is aligned to university timetables, with three 12-week modules a year. “Within each module, there are two dedicated teaching weeks, where our apprentices have 40 weeks off the shop floor to do virtual lectures and seminars, and to work
“The apprenticeship focuses on gaining knowledge of the retail sector and how to influence the whole retail ‘journey’ for our customers,” she continues. “That includes driving performance indicators, coaching and empowering teams, and customer focus. The aim is for each apprentice to become a store manager at the end of the programme.” Lidl is currently in the midst of a major expansion
together as a cohort,” Wheatley says. “Then outside of that, there’ll be additional study days to help support them when their assignments are due.” Lidl’s degree apprentices begin on the shop-floor
Applying for apprenticeships is hard. For my apprenticeship at Unilever, the first step was a CV application, followed by situational judgement tests and then a few other online assessments. The next stage was a digital automated interview, where questions flash up on the screen and you have to record yourself answering them. I found this quite challenging at the beginning, especially because I had never done one of these before. The final application stage is called a ‘Discovery Centre’. It’s a full-day event where you’ll be invited to one of our offices for a series of assessed activities. This included a group task and a one- to-one interview, where I got the chance to speak about the roles I was interested in at Unilever. They asked me what my ‘purpose’ was, and I answered ‘people’ and talked about the energy I get from working with other people. So, when I was offered a place on the degree apprenticeship
I’m someone that needs structure in my life and to
Degree Apprentice
know what I’m doing each day – alongside having a purpose. I thought if I went to university, I might not have that, and it could be too social. I was lucky because both of my sisters did degree apprenticeships, so I knew quite a bit about how they worked. I did as much research as I could to find out which ones best suited me and I became really interested in fast-moving consumer goods companies (FMCGs) – like Coca- Cola, Nestlé, Mondelez (who now own Cadbury’s) and Unilever. For me personally, Unilever has such an extensive brand portfolio, with brands like Magnum and Cornetto ice cream, Marmite, Persil, Hellmans, Domestos and Vaseline. It’s a company that’s in so many different categories and I was excited I could be working with any of them. And as a company, I also thought Unilever best- matched the values that I hold.
I knew when I was in sixth form that I wanted to do a degree, but I was worried about whether I could afford the cost of going to university myself – and I didn’t want to ask my parents to help pay for it. Sofia Campanaro Charted Management Degree Apprentice Unilever “
44 Degree Apprenticeships
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