Work Experience: Great Bear Distribution
- Curtis
- May 16, 2023
- Work Experience
- Work Experience
- 0 Comments
Work Experience: Great Bear Distribution
The first half of this article is going to be about before I went to the place and all the things I had to do before going and getting work experience sorted. Whereas, the other half was written after I completed it.
What is Work Experience?
In the UK, some high schools give their students a week out of school to go to a place of work and it gives students the chance to gain experience about work. Now, for my placement even though it’s not directly an IT place because it is a warehouse for a logistics business, it does have some technology aspects with the multiple different types of software they use to communicate with different things they use. Furthermore, as a young person I understand that the job market is constantly changing and I believe that computers & technology are the way forward. Anyway, in my school Work Experience was announced to us in an assembly on a PSHCE day where we were told that we would have Work Experience in May after mocks and we had about 6-7 weeks to find a placement as that’s when the “deadline” for the paperwork was due. Over the weeks we had multiple assemblies reminding us about it, the rules, the deadlines and what to do/expect.
Finding A Placement: How? & My Experience
Naturally, I think of myself as quite an independent person and I wanted to try and find a placement myself. Therefore, every Friday I would to go the IT room where a club was held to allow you to search for places and get help etc. During the time I spent at these sessions, I would use Google Maps & the internet to find local places that matched my interests which is computing, this is because two of my three options for GCSE involve computers, (Computer Science & Creative iMedia). After finding places, I would email off to them. However, ones I contacted didn’t give response, but I expect that, some places might not accept young people due to the cost of insurance especially during the last few years with the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Out of all this, it taught me one thing. It’s always best to shoot your shot and obviously not everyone will respond to you in life, however you don’t know until you try and someone always will.
Unfortunately, the deadline was nearing and I didn’t have much luck. Yet, because I attended these sessions every Friday I had a teacher from my school who was willing to help me find a placement. The teacher who deals with Work Experience also just happens to be one of my teachers and he helped me find a placement, he told me not to worry about the deadline as he’d help me get it sorted.
Time passed and I attended more of the sessions each Friday, and then he told me about a place that I’d be interested in and I liked the sound of the place so I emailed off to them and got a response!
Over the next week or so, I sent many emails back and forth to Great Bear and they arranged to call me and talk about the details of the placement. A few days later, the time came and I had a call with my contact for the placement and it gave me the chance to tell him a bit about myself and ask questions. Then, a few emails later we got all the paperwork sorted and a pre-placement visit arranged to go and see the warehouse and see what it’s like!
Pre-Placement Visit: Great Bear, Skelmersdale
It was about 6 weeks before the work experience week. However, I needed to have an insight into what I’d be doing so that I didn’t walk in on the day absolutely clueless. So before I went to the pre-placement visit I did some research to find out they are a 3PL (3rd Party Logistics Company) who store and distribute products, and I learnt a bit about who their clients are when I went but for obvious reasons I’m not allowed to specify any more than that. Great Bear Distribution is owned by the Culina Group who own lots of other companies that are involved with logistics. Anyway, it was one Thursday after school and I went to the warehouse and went to the bit where visitors were supposed to go and I said I was here to have a meeting with my contact. After waiting for less than two minutes I was introduced to the contact who I had been emailing. He was extremely polite, friendly and professional, he showed us a peek of what’s inside the warehouse but I couldn’t see more than that because this was before the Work Experience and before I would be given the safety brief. Whilst, being there we had a face to face chat which gave me a more in depth insight of what the technology aspects of their company were and it also gave me the chance to meet a few of the workers there who were also very polite, respectful and welcoming as they were funny and made the environment seem to me that it would be safe from first impressions. I was also given a work experience booklet from them which had all the information for the placement in it, which was very handy! I really enjoyed the face to face meeting and it was very beneficial to get an insight into what I’d be doing instead of walking on the day having no clue.
The Week Working Up To Work Experience
As we all know, anything in life can change at any given moment. Hence this, I emailed my contact at the place to make sure that everything was still good to go ahead. Not too long later, I got a confirmation that everything was still fine. It’s important to keep communication up before you go!
On Friday, we had a final assembly about what we should and shouldn’t do and what we need to do if there’s any concerns. This was informative because it gave a recap of some things we had been told prior but also there was some new information.
Also, we were introduced to our school Work Experience booklets that we had to fill in at three different periods of time:
- Pre Placement:
This went over things like:
– Work hours compared with school times: I worked 09:00-15:00 (compared to school time of 08:50-15:15)
– The work environment compared with school: I put that I would expect the environment to be more professional and formal.
– Other differences you expect to see compared to school: I said it will be much more hands on.
– How do you expect to be treated as an employee?: I stated that I expect to be treated the same way as I would be in school; listened to & respected. - Work Experience Diary – This is what they want you to fill in each day and I will provide the questions underneath that I was asked and fill in each day of the Diary further down in the article in each day’s summary.
The questions:
– What have you done today?
– What have you liked and why?
– What have you learned?
– What have you disliked and why?
– On reflection, I would have done this differently.
– Employer/supervisor comment. - After Placement
– Were your original expectations proved right?
– How did they compare?
– Looking back at the things you expected to achieve, did you achieve them?
– Did you have any problems during the placement?
– What work did you do? Write about duties/jobs.
– Did you enjoy your work experience?
– If anything, what would you change about your placement?
– Was it useful?
Finally, on that day I got a reminder email about my working hours and other information for when I start on Tuesday.
Day 1: Tuesday - Introduction & inductions.
Just a disclaimer that as you’d expect the first day wasn’t very hands on as there was some important information I needed to know before starting.
I came in about 10 minutes before I was expected to. (It’s always good to be early to make a decent first impression!)
I followed the instructions I was sent by email on Friday to report to the gatehouse, the staff there were very friendly and the member of staff I was supposed to speak to was there to give me some information I needed to know and then issued me with a key card to get in to the warehouse & offices. After that, I then had to fill out some questions before being taken over to the warehouse. Not long after, he came over and brought me to the room where I would be during my lunch/free time and gave me the essential stuff I need that they said they would supply, safety boots, high vis and even a couple of items I wasn’t expecting which was very nice of them. (To be more precise I was gifted a pen, a notebook, and a branded jacket).
I was then escorted to the room where I went when I came for a pre-placement visit. Then, I got to meet some of the key members of staff that are important for my visit and they told me a bit about themselves, now most of them had been here 12+ years which gave me the first impressions that this place is a good place to work and has nice people if they have been here so long, as I learnt this week if you’re going into a job, you need to enjoy what you do & be passionate about it, the people around you are also important too! I was then given a safety brief which is mandatory for first time visitors and the member of staff who was leading it was very passionate about ensuring that everyone comes in and goes home safe. (The same could be said across the team to be fair). After about 11am, I’d finished all the safety briefs and was able to move on to the first bits of work experience. Firstly, I got a tour around the warehouse it was more in-depth then when I came on the pre-placement visit, I got to see all the different chambers, how pallets are stored, what machinery they use to move the pallets. They also told me about some of the special equipment they have invested in for them. Then it was time for lunch, so I had my lunch break in the room where my stuff was, which was an office essentially. Finally, to end the day off we did a session on CV writing, this gave me the chance to showcase my skills to people I don’t know and have just met and also learning how to present them to make them look attractive to employers. The reason for doing this is that later on in the week they are going to give me a mock interview so by practicing in advance it will help me, then at 14:30 it was time for me to go home. (I was supposed to go home at 15:00 but because of how full on my day was, they said I could go home early).
Day 2: Wednesday - More hands on!
I arrived at 08:55, reported to the gatehouse and signed myself in, then walked over the building then went to the usual room, dropped my stuff off and then got on with my first session which was with transport planning. In this session I learnt about what they do when orders come in/and are cancelled. I also got a look at the different types of software they use which include: Microsoft Excel, Roadrunner and Inet. Excel is a spreadsheet software, in this case they have spreadsheets that the customer sends of what orders they want and where, what times etc. Inet is also where the orders go and they export the data and then import it into roadrunner. (I’ll explain more about Inet when I talk about OPS). Roadrunner is a software that has all the information about an order, what time it should be picked up and what time it should arrive at a location. The job of Transport Planning is to look at the time and put them into day or night shift, they also have to consider distance times and ensure that a driver isn’t working for too long and they also need to factor things like breaks and distances to see if a trip is worth it or if they need more/less drivers to fulfill the orders. I even got to have a go at grouping some orders. After that, I went to Control Ops and they explained to me the individual steps of what they do on the software and what happens in the warehouse. Firstly, I was shown the software used in their department, they also use Inet which essentially tells the client the progress of each order, eg. What time it was picked, what time picking finished and order statuses. They then demonstrated each individual step that was done on the software in the warehouse. I also got to have a go at the software which involved picking a lane for the trailer and then it telling the people in the warehouse which crates to pick and then to move them to the appropriate location. Another thing Control Ops do is assign things to lanes and bays so if something is in a bay for example they’ll switch it around and it’ll get moved. After a hands-on morning, it was time for lunch. Finally, I had an afternoon session learning about more of the different types of software and how they don’t communicate with each other and how they need to ensure information is on both in case they need to look back on it further on in time down the line.
Day 3: Thursday - More software's!
Today, I came in a few minutes before my start time because the managers had a call at 9am and they wanted me to be there to listen and see what they have to report on call. After that, I was in another department of interest in which I was shown a bit of the data they keep on drivers and stuff if for example they make a claim about something they can use the data to prove/disprove it, I was also taken to one of the HGVs and got to sit in it and they told me about some of the features they have and what drivers have to do before operating them. Then, I was supposed to see a bit more but something came up and that member of staff had to go and look at the CCTV, I got to see a bit of it before having to move on to the next session which was Stock Control. This was an interesting department to see as I was shown the main two software’s they use, one called Autostore and the other called SAP and he was telling me how information from one needs to be the same reflected on the other, vice versa. He also mentioned about if something is wrong, the steps they take to identify the issue and sort it. Most issues are usually because once something is changed on one it can take time to reflect on the other. After lunch, I did a session with another member of staff on some of the stuff she deals with in her job and what software’s she uses, for example I was shown two things they use in regards to having everyone’s training records which was called nvolve and another which another which they use to document safety events called evotix. Finishing off the day, I witnessed the afternoon call which follows the same process as the morning. Then it was time for me to wrap up for the day and go home.
Day 4: Friday - The Last Day
The final day, I came in and finished CV writing. Then I had some pre-interview tips and chat. This was then followed by a mock interview where I pretended I was being interviewed for a job there, so this gave me experience to see what it’s like, what questions you get asked and also what questions to ask them, for example being punctual, researching and knowing about the company where you are applying for a job will get you off to a good start. Furthermore, it gave me the chance to showcase my skills and tell them my ambitions for the future etc. Then we got some lunch, they treated me which was very nice of them. After that, I got to go back to Operations (Ops) Control for a bit and do a bit more hands on there which was very nice. Just before half two, I got my stuff together, got everything wrapped up, said goodbye to everyone and thanked them and then it was time for me to go.
My Final Thoughts!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my Work Experience placement here. Going to a logistics place wasn’t something I was expecting at first, but nevertheless everything happens for a reason and I feel like I got a lot out of the placement because all the different departments at Great Bear do use different software’s for each job they’ve got to do. My original expectations were partly proved right, for example the workplace is a lot more professional and formal than school, but I feel like some of the stuff I expected but then there was also an element of a few things that I didn’t expect but that was due to the lack of time I got there. Looking back at my time at Great Bear, yes, I achieved what I wanted to which was to go to a placement that involved technology as that’s where my passions and interests are, when I got there I think I was surprised at just how much the technology is important in logistics throughout all the departments to help everything flow smoothly. Despite me not being there when they plan things, I can tell that Great Bear are very organised in what they do, not only in logistics but in the Work Experience placements because when I got there, they had everything ready for me. All the gear I needed was there when I arrived on Tuesday morning including the safety boots which they asked about on the pre-placement visit. During this placement, I had no problems whatsoever, any questions I had, there was always a staff member that could answer it and give an in-depth reason. In this placement, I mainly had to visit each department and they would show me everything they would have to do on a daily basis and the main focus would be to show me the tech side of everything but there was also an element of showing me for example in Ops Control, they demonstrated the technology side then took me into the warehouse to show me how what they did on the computer reflects in the warehouse. Due to the short amount of time I was on the placement for, it was mainly a lot of listening and taking things in, there was the opportunity for me to have a bit of hands on having a go on the programs but as I stated if someone was going to make the most out of the placement it would be great if they had more time than just four days, but that’s my schools fault and not reflective of Great Bear & I told them that if they sent people there in the future it would be better and more beneficial for them to have more time.
Great Bear Distribution: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finally, I want to give one more big massive Thank You to everyone at Great Bear for accommodating my Year 10 Work Experience. It was an absolute blast! I enjoyed every minute of it, it’s a shame that it went by very quickly. I want to just add this bit to my article because I think it’s important to give my views and feedback.
If anyone my age is looking for a Work Experience placement and stumbles upon Great Bear or gets it suggested to them, I would highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested in technology and/or logistics. When you come here, they will take care of you very well, safety of everyone is a top priority. Everyone there is extremely polite, friendly, organised & humourous. Not only that, you will learn a lot about how they operate, but also you will walk away with other life skills that will help you in the future when it comes to applying for jobs, for example the mock interview, as in your life you will have to do many different interviews for different things.
Overall, if I could go there again I absolutely would and it’s given me a positive insight into the future of what working life could look like, and even though you may not get in the job you expect, everything happens for a reason.
