Leading
online trade supplier, IronmongeryDirect are celebrating the success of their
graduate management scheme.

The
UK’s largest supplier of ironmongery have recruited two new graduates following
the continued progression of the organisation’s previous intake of newly
qualified students.

One
of the stand out performers is Dimitra Koutsochera. Dimitra joined IronmongeryDirect
in 2013 after completing an MSc in Business Management and since starting as a
graduate management trainee, has gone on to be promoted to Supply Chain and
Inventory Planning Manager.

Dimitra
identified the diversity on offer in her role and the opportunities she was
provided with to realise her best strengths as the major contributing factors
for excelling in the scheme. Talking about the scheme, she said: “My university
course gave me the tools and introduced me to the best frameworks for me to
know what it takes to perform a job well.  However, you are only going to
learn if someone gives you the opportunity to apply this into practice, make
mistakes, and learn from them.

“This
is the advantage of the IronmongeryDirect graduate scheme as you have the
opportunity to work in various departments, build business acumen, earn further
qualifications, and at the end of it all, identify what you really enjoy doing
and start a career. You understand how each department links to each other and
the impact that your decisions may have. Graduate schemes give you the
flexibility to choose what is best for you and your future career, compared to
going down another route.”

IronmongeryDirect’s
latest crop of graduates include Oliver Bull and Luke Scott.

Oliver
graduated from the University of Warwick having completed a Masters in MSc
Biotechnology, Bioprocessing and Business Management and is already immersing
himself in the new role: “I have just started my first three-month project,
aimed at further enhancing customer experience. I have been welcomed and
already feel valued and part of the team.

“IronmongeryDirect
offered the perfect opportunity for me to further expand my knowledge and
experience in the field. It was clear the company invests time and effort into
its employees, and despite its size, has maintained a family-like business
environment, which in turn, has created a thriving workplace. A wide range of
personal development opportunities are also available.”

Luke,
who graduated with a degree in Mathematics from Loughborough University also
praised the wide-ranging nature of the graduate scheme: “The most attractive
feature of the scheme was the fact that I would be working in lots of different
departments throughout the programme, which meant I would be getting a full
scope of how the business works.

“There
is a great work culture here; the whole team is friendly and always ready to
lend a helping hand, with everyone, including the directors, available if you
need a chat! I would definitely recommend IronmongeryDirect to somebody else.”

Dimitra
concluded with some final advice to any aspiring graduates: “Ask questions,
loads of questions as this is your opportunity to learn. Also, take any
feedback on board and do not hesitate to suggest ideas or solutions. Be
proactive and take your own initiative to investigate and change things for the
good of the department. It’s your time to shine and give your career strong
foundations so make the most of it!”

IronmongeryDirect
is the UK’s largest specialist ironmongery supplier, with over 16,500 products
in stock, available for next day delivery.