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B6 STUDENTS ATTEND ASDA HQ FOR WORKPLACE SAFARI

B6 STUDENTS ATTEND ASDA HQ FOR WORKPLACE SAFARI

Last week 28 B6 students were joined by Emily Dover, Careers & Employability Advisor; Jill Whitham, Careers Lead; Debbie Holden, Business Course Leader and Christine Baldwin, Asda’s Community Champion, on a trip to Asda Head Quarters in Leeds for a Workplace Safari.

The Workplace Safari sought to expose the students to the vast array of different careers available in a large supermarket chain such as Asda.

The thought-provoking sessions provided by Asda included:

• Decision Science & Analytics
• Chefs and Food Innovation and Development
• PR
• Packaging Design
• Pricing and Promotions
• Marketing Execution
• People & HR Team
• Product Development Team

The students also enjoyed competing to stock a confectionary shelf considering things such as product placement, consumer habits, price point and packaging size / weight / stack-ability. The team at Asda were impressed by our students’ work and how they’d considered things such as lower-priced grab items at a child’s level, a shelf for party bag sweets for parents, more expensive items on the higher shelf, including organic/ vegan ranges.

Our students found it to be a really rewarding day and some of their insights included:

“It was insightful hearing the different job roles at Asda. It is not only shop floor staff as I had first imagined, there are many roles available in the corporate services. I enjoyed the part on product pricing and brand comparison as I am interested in working in finance in the future.”

Owen Doran

 “Having the opportunity to develop my presentation skills when I pitched our product idea during the mock assessment centre task was my favourite part of the day. I am hoping to secure an apprenticeship in the future and got to hear about their apprenticeship programmes at Asda and develop my skills to make me stand out at future interviews.”

Lucy Glover

“It has helped me to explore the sector and to see the different branches of marketing. It has inspired me to pursue a career in the marketing sector. I would never have considered one day working in marketing for a company like Asda so this trip has broadened my horizons.”

Mona Aziz

“Seeing the product development area was really interesting, hearing about the different suppliers and the reasons products are displayed in a certain way. I really enjoyed getting to try this out for myself during the confectionary task, and it was beneficial to get feedback staff at Asda on our thought process. At first I wasn’t sure about pitching during the assessment centre task, however I put myself out my comfort zone which has boosted my confidence. I enjoyed seeing all the different factors that go into developing a new product such as profit margins, pricing, logistics and promotion through social media. I had fun on the trip and now know of all the career opportunities and progression available at a company like Asda.”

Suffyan Valli

Emily Dover, Careers & Employability Advisor at The Sixth Form Bolton, found the day to be an invaluable experience for the students:

“As a Sixth Form, we place a strong emphasis on a student’s personal development during their 2 years with us. Alongside the traditional one-week work placements, in recent years we have been developing and running Workplace Safari trips and Employer Led Live Briefs in conjunction with local and national businesses, including Northstone Housing, Hewlett Packard and Peel Land & Property. These events give students an alternative way to gain experience of the workplace, often with a company they never would have considered. At first, students were unsure why we were taking them to Asda, as they were not aware of the wealth of careers available at Head Office in their professional services. After our trip, students have commented on how their minds have been opened to many job roles and careers which they would never have imagined would be available at a company such as Asda. The students realised how important transferable skills are when entering the world of work, and now have a strong understand of what large organisations are looking for in their Early Careers Programmes. We are keen to build links with more local businesses in the Greater Manchester area who are interested in hosting a Workplace Safari day or Employer Led Live Brief.”

Christine Baldwin, Asda’s Community Champion was really positive about the experience:

“Being an Enterprise Advisor with GMACS assigned to The Sixth Form Bolton and Smithills School has made me realise how much our young people need role models within organisations allowing our students to see the reality of job roles that exist. It is now more than ever that young people need companies to open their doors and invite students in to experience the variety of careers that exist, enabling them to make decisions which will affect their futures.”

We would like to extend our thanks to Christine Baldwin and all at Asda HQ for facilitating this once in a lifetime experience for our students.