Tell us about yourself, where youâre from and what you studied at college
Iâm the sustainability graduate here at Lidl, and Iâm from Dundalk, Co Louth. I studied marketing at Maynooth University. Iâve always had a really strong passion for sustainability that really grew when I started working for my sisterâs sustainable clothing brand, and throughout my college degree I did an internship in Bord Bia on their Origin Green team, which is their sustainability team. So in that role, I helped manufacturers communicate their sustainability initiatives.
How did you find out about the graduate programme and why did you decide to apply?
I always had heard about the grad programme through college, and I always heard of Lidl being the number one grad programme, and their reputation being really good, and for being intensive but also having excellent career progression opportunities. So throughout college, I kept my eye out for it, and then I applied in September 2024.
How has your experience of the graduate programme been so far?
My experience has been really good. Graduates get exposure to all areas of the business. You start off by doing operational training, and that experience is really important. You learn the business from the ground up, so you get to see how the things youâre working on in your department will then impact on store teams, warehouse processes and the customer as well.
You take on real responsibility and ownership of projects. Iâve taken on full ownership of a project called the Green Fund, thatâs basically funding for community groups, charities and schools for their sustainability projects. So Iâve managed the launch of that and the shortlisting process. Itâs been really rewarding being able to see the work Iâm doing is having a real impact on the community and seeing how much Lidl is investing in the community as well.
We also get the opportunity to have one-on-one monthly meetings with a board member as part of our graduate programme, so all grads get to do this and itâs a really cool experience. You can ask them as much as you want, and they can give us advice on the projects weâre working on â career advice as well. Whatâs really good about it is that theyâre in a different business area to us, so I can pick their brain on the area that they work in.
You come in with a cohort of graduates, so in my group it was 18 of us, and I found that part of the graduate programme really exciting because you become really good friends, and you can then lean on each other for support, and it just makes the transition really seamless. As a grad group, we have a project together that we all work on, which is fundraising for our charity partners Age NI and Family Carers Ireland.
What are your career plans now?
Iâve seen so many people who started on the grad programme who are now directors and senior leaders in the business. So seeing that thereâs so much career progression and different opportunities, Iâm definitely looking to progress within Lidl.
Whatâs your advice to graduates applying to the programme?
Get your application in as early as possible. They open in September and close at the end of October. I would say, tailor your application to the role that youâre applying for, use any previous experience that you have and try to transfer those skills and make them transferable in the retail section. I think if youâre really passionate about learning and constantly developing personally and professionally, this is definitely a grad programme for you.
