What's Level 4 Fast-Track Buying & Merchandising Really Like?

I was drawn to buying from the beginning, and it gave me a much better understanding of what the role entails. The 6 month time frame of the fast-track structure fitted my lifestyle better, as I was working full time in a coffee shop and could not afford to reduce my hours for a whole year, but 6 months were manageable. “

I had a great experience! It was a bit of a crazy time looking back now since my schedule while still working 35 hours was insane, but I'm really glad I did it. Especially since we formed great friendships from the start, and I'm still in touch with most people from the course even now. Sharing that experience with other students was my favourite part, as it was a pretty diverse group and everyone had different perspectives to offer which impacted me very positively!

I did not expect to jump right into the world of buying after, but I felt ready and landed a job fairly quickly! I literally had my second interview on the last day when we submitted our final project.

The course gave me great skills not also on the actual BAA role, but perspective for the future of my career. The learning curve at the beginning was very steep but after a couple months everything just clicked for me, and I think being able to understand the processes of the buying cycle before I started working supported my growth immensely.

Regarding the skills I developed, time management is a huge one. During the course, we had to juggle many projects, some on a day to day basis and some over longer time periods. I got so much better at prioritizing tasks without even realizing it. Collaboration and communication was a great practice as well, as these are key to be part of a buying team. Soft skills like carrying out comp shops, excel and trend forecasting I also rely on on a daily basis.

I'd say go for it! It doesn't matter if you're confident you want to work in buying & merchandising, or are just curious like I was. It's very comprehensive and you will learn so much more than you expect in only 6 months. There are times where you really need to put your head down and work, so you need to be committed, but you will get so many useful skills useful across many fields in the fashion industry, and likely meet great people along the way who will share your experience.