“Being part of the Aldi Graduate Programme meant that at 22 years old, I was potentially on a fast track to becoming a director before I was 30.”Ben Butterfield, Area Manager

When Ben Butterfield left university with an honours degree in Management, he wanted to join a company whose culture thrived on a lack of bureaucracy, and one that offered quality training and ample opportunity for advancement. One year on, having learnt everything about the day-to-day running of stores, he then moved on to the second half of his programme and teamed up with an Area Manager for training.

"No other retailer gives you so much progression in such a short space of time – within five years I was a Buying Director. I do like the fact that I'm responsible for so much and I get real enjoyment from what I do. It's just fantastic." Julie Ashfield, Buying Director

Julie Ashfield joined the Area Management Programme having graduated in psychology. The training was very hands-on and Julie did everything from operating cash tills to recruiting store staff. Within ten weeks, she was providing holiday cover for a Store Manager and had responsibility for a store.

After 17 months’ training she was then given responsibility for six stores. In less than five years, she was promoted to Buying Director, responsible for buying 10% of Aldi's UK range.

Of the Aldi Area Management Programme Julie says "You need to be prepared for hard work both physically and mentally, and you need to be flexible. Aldi has delivered on all its promises to me. If I had my time again, I wouldn't change a thing."