Training and Development
At the John Lewis Partnership we believe that everyone has the capacity to learn and grow. From first-class customer service training to soft skills development and technical training, you can look forward to a wealth of learning opportunities that will equip you with the skills and confidence to be the best you can be.
The key is that you are in control of – and accountable for – your own development . We’ll provide all the tools and support you need to progress and you will need to be highly self-motivated, willing to push yourself forward and continuously open to learning new things.
Fulfilling your potential
Our aim is to provide long-term, satisfying careers. Every employee at every level of the business is encouraged to take on new challenges or develop a career in management. That’s why we always try to promote from within, and offer a range of internal management training programmes to help us achieve this.
What’s more, we don’t believe that development always has to mean moving up a level – it can also be about moving across into a different function or even a different business area.
We’ll encourage you to fulfil your potential by:
- Helping you to learn as much as you can about the Partnership and our activities
- Providing information and training to help you carry out responsibilities better
- Helping you develop the skills and knowledge to grow as the business changes
- Encouraging changes of responsibility on a trial basis if necessary
- Supporting general education and interests in fields not directly related to your work
Management Training Schemes
Across the Partnership, high-calibre managers are crucial to maintaining our position as one of the UK’s leading retailers.
Our managers come from a wide variety of backgrounds – school and college leavers, graduates, experienced retailers, career switchers and those returning to work after a break. We aim to have a training scheme that will suit everyone.
Placements and work experience
If you're thinking of trying out a career in retail, there’s no better place to do it than one of the UK's top retail destinations.
John Lewis offer comprehensive summer placements lasting six to eight weeks to penultimate–year students interested in retail. You’ll usually be based on the shop floor, although there are occasionally opportunities to work in our Head Offices. Waitrose also offer an Industrial Placement scheme for penultimate–year students. This scheme sees undergraduates progressing to management positions within branches over the year long scheme. Our most successful students are offered positions on the Waitrose Retail Management Graduate Scheme. We also have a variety of Head Office Industrial Placement opportunities.
To find out more visit our placements pages:
We also offer valuable work experience opportunities lasting two weeks. Please find out more at your local branch of John Lewis or Waitrose.
