Lidl’s graduate programme is something to brag about. Each year the widely recognised scheme draws thousands of applicants for just a handful of places.
This year, as the retailer continues its growth nationwide, the programme is expanding, with 15 positions on offer.
A huge part of its appeal is that participants get to work on real life projects, with terrific support.
As well as a friendly and collegiate environment, each graduate is assigned a work “buddy”, someone who recently participated in the graduate programme, who they can turn to for practical help.
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On top of that, each graduate is given a “director mentor”, a member of Lidl’s senior team, to guide them and ensure they get the best out of the 18-month programme from a career development perspective.
Of course, that’s on top of all the usual Lidl perks, including great pay and conditions (currently €42,500 a year), and access to a car if you need it for work-related projects.
Grad life
Mayo native Ciara Hahessy (23) is on the Lidl graduate programme, having finished a commerce degree from University of Galway last year, specialising in human resource management.
During her final year at university she began researching graduate programmes. The more she read about Lidl’s, the more she felt, “Oh my gosh, I’ve got to do this,” she explains. “I applied in October 2022 and was offered it before Christmas, which meant all through my final year I had a role waiting for me.”
She started in September 2023, with a weeklong induction at Lidl’s head office, in Dublin. After that, all graduates spent two weeks getting to know colleagues in their respective business units, which include human resources, information technology, finance, logistics and sales to name a few. For the next three months it was all about operational training in stores, which she loved.
“Graduates learn the business from the ground up. I spent my first six weeks in the Portarlington store where I worked as a customer assistant and duty manager, and for my second six weeks, in Naas, I trained as a deputy store manager and store manager,” she explains.
She was nervous, she admits. “I had worked as a waitress all through college but had no experience in retail, so I didn’t know what to expect but everyone was absolutely lovely and so welcoming and helpful. It was a great experience. I’d go back in the morning if they asked me to,” she says.
After store training she returned to head office, to work in her chosen field of human resources.
“I’m doing rotations between the different HR teams, which gives me a broad exposure to everything from HR operations to payroll, to working with a HR manager in a region and with the employee relations team. My next rotation will be in talent acquisition, and finally I’ll get time with the talent management team as well,” she explains.
Since day one, and throughout the programme, Ciara has been supported by her director mentor, Ciaran Delaney, senior director IT at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“Director mentors have a wealth of knowledge and experience and help us to navigate the various challenges we face throughout the programme,” says Ciara. “Ciaran and I meet formally every few weeks but we also bump into each other in the corridors all the time. He has been genuinely helpful and nice, and easy to talk to. We can talk about anything, from something I’m working on to challenges he has faced in his own career and advice on how to navigate them. If I have a presentation for example, I might ask him for advice. If there’s a particular area I’m interested in he’ll suggest people to talk to. It’s a great asset to have within the programme.”
All Lidl grads get formal training too, in areas such as communications, conflict management or presentation skills.
Ciara hopes to stay with Lidl once her programme ends in March. But even if she doesn’t, she is evangelical about the programme. “For anyone interested in working in a fast-paced environment, where you can take on real responsibility, it’s just a great opportunity to kick-start your career and get great training and support along the way. I’d definitely recommend it,” she says.
Mentor support
Ciara’s mentor, Ciaran Delaney, is himself proof positive of the career development value of a supportive employer. An accountant by training, who previously worked for one of the Big Four accountancy practices in Dublin, he joined Lidl in 2011.
“In accountancy you are doing the same thing for every company, so you really only get to see a snapshot of what is happening. I was eager to see more of the industry side. The opportunity to work with Lidl came up and I haven’t looked back since,” says Delaney.
In the 13 years since he joined, he has already had what he describes as a “number of careers”, including roles in HR and stints working overseas. He spent a number of years rolling out a new IT system to Lidl’s distribution centres in Netherlands, for example.
In his current role he is responsible for ensuring a stable IT environment, digitising processes and securing the store from cyberattacks.
It’s precisely because of the wide range of opportunities Lidl offers that it attracts such high calibre graduates to its programme, he believes.
“Being on the grad programme gives you an invaluable insight into how we operate, and indeed how large multinational companies operate. That includes both the head office and the operational side of the business, including warehouses,” he says.
Graduates get to work in the specific stream or department they are most interested in pursuing, he adds. “They are given real responsibility, which makes it a solid grounding. It’s work that has a high impact and which will set them up for their career,” says Ciaran.
Though not all are lucky enough to be offered a permanent role within Lidl after the graduate programme is over, of those that do, “a lot progress really well within the business and go on to take up more senior positions,” he adds.
“A huge part of that is the result of the good structures we have in place to support graduates, to make sure they get the most out of the programme.”
That includes the director mentors.
“For us it’s about saying to them, look, this is a company with a massive amount of opportunity, so try and seize the chance in front of you,” he explains. “Because regardless of what happens in your career, Lidl’s 18-month grad programme is a really great starting point. It’s a unique opportunity to work in a supportive environment that challenges you, gives you real responsibility, and interesting projects to work on. Whatever happens next, that will stand them in good stead for the next step in their career.”
Ready to kick-start your career with Lidl? If you want to find out more, visit jobs.lidl.ie