Our Core Development Programme

We're all part of the John Lewis Partnership. The way we work is intrinsically linked and our culture is the same whichever division you eventually work within. We actively encourage our Partners to broaden their career paths and to keep an open mind to opportunities that present themselves. That's why we created a core development programme which underpins all our graduate schemes.

This programme forms the basis of your development as a graduate and is supplemented by scheme-specific training and development which will differ from scheme to scheme. And like your scheme training it mixes structured training with self-development modules. These cover all aspects of life within the Partnership and will look to hone your technical, commercial and managerial skills.

At the end of it all, you will be assessed to confirm your senior management potential and highlight areas for further development.

The programme will allow you to:

Work across boundaries
Gain exposure across all divisions in the Partnership
Gain exposure outside of the Partnership
Develop a sense of community across different departments, functions and divisions and build your network
Be visible at a senior level
Develop personal effectiveness
Incorporate bespoke development into your scheme to support your individual career development needs

Here's a brief look at what the programme entails:

Induction – Welcome! Here you'll meet graduates from all the schemes and get the opportunity to understand what the Partnership can offer you and what our expectations are of you
Product lifecycle project – Working within a team of graduates from across the Partnership you'll have six months to investigate and document the lifecycle of a John Lewis and a Waitrose product and prepare a presentation to bring this to life. The research required for this project will introduce you to a range of different areas in the Partnership and help you understand how they work together
Six month summit – You will meet your graduate colleagues from the other schemes again during this event which is time for you to reflect and look forward. As well as a self-awareness module, you'll get to present your product lifecycle findings, gain access to senior leaders and learn more about mentoring, as well as other projects coming up
Live Business Project – Working in mixed teams of graduates, you will take on a business challenge set by a leader in the business. The project will be a live issue and our business leaders will be looking for your insight and recommendations
12 month Seminar – You will have a third opportunity to network with your graduate colleagues from across the Partnership at this two day event attended by senior leaders. You'll present your live business project findings, understand what's to come in year two and have access to career coaching to help you put together a personal development plan for the coming year
External perspective - Much of your programme focuses on helping you understand our business, but we want to make sure that you start to develop an external perspective to support your professional development, either through a Corporate Social Responsibility Project or through networking with graduates from other businesses
Line Management Training – We offer a range of practical courses for line managers to help them with their people management skills. At an appropriate point in your programme when you have line management responsibility you will attend these courses
Leadership Event – You will meet all your graduate colleagues from across the Partnership again at this week-long conference and outward bound event in Year 2 which is attended by senior leaders and will cover all aspects of leadership with the Partnership, mixing practical with theory
When you first join, you will have a ‘buddy' to help you settle in. After about six months, you will have access to a senior manager who will act as your mentor throughout the programme. In addition, your line manager will play a significant role in supporting you with your career development
Most importantly, we will provide you with the development opportunities and support, but it is up to you to make the most of these opportunities and to demonstrate what you have learned when you are back in your workplace. We will ask you to keep a professional development log throughout your programme to record your development, feedback and successes which you can use as evidence of your progress throughout the programme and at your final assessment