Procurement Graduate Review

My experience at BAES has been very positive so far, I've joined a scheme that has allowed me to work in various placements across the business, including very different aspects of it. I've been able to build up my competencies, and I've had a lot of investment in my personal development.

In my first year I focussed on Supplier Management, which I did across three teams. My initial 9 months was spent feeding into all of our site projects as the Core Categories team provides support for the whole site. After I left the Core Categories team I moved into the AIS area, where I managed a difficult relationship.
I was moved out of the AIS team to cover a resource issue in another team, and joined Displays as a Project Facing Buyer in September 2025. I currently manage the supply chain on three projects.

I ended up in a position where I had to take on responsibility quite quickly, but it's been the best thing for my development so far. I've been able to take ownership of multiple suppliers and now I am invited to high level project meetings to discuss overall progress.

My work package compensates me fairly for the work that I do as a Buyer, and I experienced two pay rises in my first year. However, I do have concerns that once I exit the scheme my pay will stagnate significantly.

I have had a lot of investment put into myself and into the connections that I have with the Rochester team. This puts me in a strong position.

I've experienced a lot of support, but I know that other people in my role have not- it's line manager dependent.

My work-life balance is poor. Tasks are still expected to be done (it's the nature of project work) whether you have the capacity for it or not. There is significant pressure and sometimes the only way to work it is through overtime. This is expected in some teams. I recognise this and have no issue with it because it's a part of my role and my work package.

Some teams are much better than others, and the general culture will get better as we get more young people through the ranks. At the moment, there are a few people that are decisively stuck in their ways and will not see alternative thinking, but they've been at the company 20+ years. Culture amongst new starts and young people (from my experience) is fine.

Yes

Job is stable, work package compensates me well, job is interesting