When Antoine arrives at work, his phone rings; it is Morgan who works in Marketing in the United States who is calling to talk about the current call for tender. The project is to equip all the retail stores with 3D-printers of personalized products. After this call, no time to lose, Antoine joins his team to meet a new supplier in order to discuss a potential future collaboration on a new innovative project. 
 

As Antoine, you dream of learning how a job in Sourcing works in a company at the forefront of innovation.  
 
 Our Apprenticeships are made for you! 
 

Joining L'Oréal means above all discovering a true industrial company delivering more than 7 billion products worldwide every year. 

By joining the Purchasing teams, you will deep dive in Operations, whose métiers contribute to the growth of L'Oréal, from product development, sourcing, production to the distribution of all the Group's products. As an ally of the brands, Operations always develops and seeks the most agile, innovative, efficient and responsible solutions to meet the specific requirements and diversity of consumers. 

In addition, you will participate in the development of the Solidarity Sourcing program, a real pillar of our Purchasing strategy.

Our ‘Solidarity Sourcing’ program, which started in 2010, directs a proportion of our Global purchases to suppliers who employ people from vulnerable communities to allow them to have a durable access to work and income. So far, we’ve been leading 379 local inclusive projects helping 81,138 people gaining access to work. 

Also, the program is aimed at companies that traditionally do not have access to large calls for tenders of multinational companies.  The program has been recognized by public institutions and NGOs e.g. United Nations and has been identified as the best practice for inclusive sourcing program by B4IG.  

More precisely, you will have the chance to work within one of our wide variety of purchasing areas: 

DIRECT PURCHASING

• Raw materials: Various raw materials are used in the composition of formulas and the manufacture of products: polymers, natural ingredients, perfumes, sun filters, vitamins... L'Oréal sources its raw materials from specialist suppliers, committed to the constant search for quality and safety.
• Packaging: The purpose of packaging is to protect and enhance the product. For L'Oréal, it is essential that our packaging is innovative and environmentally friendly.
• Contract Manufacturing: In addition to its own in-house plants, the Group uses a panel of subcontracting companies for packaging or the manufacture of specific finished products (soaps, pencils, wipes...) and logistics services.

INDIRECT PURCHASING

• Retail & Promotion: Promotion of products is a strategic area of communication for L'Oréal brands. Point-of-sale advertising and promotional items are important ways of winning over consumers. They require creativity, innovation and a competitive edge from suppliers of multi-material POS displays (metal, plastic, wood, etc.), cardboard displays, boxes, printing (notices, book, etc.) and consumer gift accessories (luggage, textiles, accessories, etc.).
• Marketing Services: Similarly, and as a complement to Retail and Promo, the brands rely on Marketing Services aimed at making the products known and accompanying the consumer at the point of sale. These include creative agencies, post-production, advertising space, and market research, not forgetting digital media.
• Business Services: Various expenses are essential to the smooth running and development of the Group. These general and administrative expenses are all the costs incurred by L'Oréal to carry out its activities, excluding production costs. In other words, they include all expenses related to Human Resources, Consulting, IT & Telecom, Facility Management & Utilities, Travel, Events, etc. This Purchasing area handles all expenses for L'Oréal sites worldwide.
• Industrial and Devices: In order to equip and operate the production lines of its factories around the world, L'Oréal works on a daily basis with many industry suppliers specialized in manufacturing equipment, packaging machinery and industrial utilities.
• Excellence Team: The role of the Excellence Team is to define the global purchasing strategy while working on common projects to the different areas. These teams work in particular on tools but also on projects guaranteeing the conformity of purchases at the international level.

Depending on your area of Purchasing, here are some examples of missions you may have to carry out:  

• Develop purchases initiatives to optimize the costs and create value
• Build and follow calls for tender
• Participate in projects: Business Review, animation of the purchasing community, market studies, suppliers' mapping, and analysis of portfolio…
• Come in support to the implementation and to the deployment of the strategy of the category
• Set up key indicators and strengthen the purchasing data
• And innovate, go further: bring your own ideas and impact! 
   

What is in for you? 

• 12 months surrounded by passionate teams. 
• A learning experience where you can stretch yourself personally and professionally. 
• A lot of challenges and opportunities to be seized and as many responsibilities to take. 
• The opportunity to innovate and create the products of tomorrow. 
• HR follow-up to accompany you throughout your journey. 
• Campus and infrastructures easily accessible for all. 
• Unlimited access to the L'Oréal Learning Platform to boost your development.
• 1 day of remote working per week
• A bespoke development process guiding you towards a permanent position in the Group. Note that ~70% of our entry level roles are filed by previous interns/apprentices!
• And of course, access to discounted products from L'Oréal brands. 

What do you need to apply? 

• You are a student with a master’s degree in engineering School or Business / University. 
• You can provide an apprenticeship agreement of 12 months with your school. 

What qualities will help you land the apprenticeship? 

• Convincing. You explain your ideas clearly, based on sound reasoning.
• Entrepreneurial. You like to try new things and discover new ways of doing! 
• Team player. You have excellent interpersonal skills and easily find your place in a team. 
• Open-minded. You exchange your ideas and integrate the opinions of others in order to find the optimal solution. 
• Creative. You like to think outside the box and propose innovative solutions. 
• Data champion. Working with data holds no secrets for you! 

If your application is selected, you will be invited to a telephone interview with a recruiter. This is an exploratory discussion to get to know you better and identify the job, the field, the division that best fits with your profile. Last step if the exploratory interview is positive: you will have the opportunity to meet your potential future manager for a second and final interview to discuss the missions you will be given. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How much responsibility will I have as an Apprentice? 

As an apprentice at L’Oréal, you will be welcomed as a full member of a team, with your scope and responsibilities. Of course, you will not be alone: your manager will provide you with objectives and a vision. However, to succeed you will need to keep in mind that you play the main part in your journey and future projection in the Group. Entrepreneurship spirit is key.

Will I have a chance to land a job after my Apprenticeship? 

We take our interns and apprentices very seriously. So yes, it is our ultimate goal! In average, each year, former interns and apprentices fulfill 70% of our junior job needs. A very large number of our current employees at all levels have come through this type of experience. 

I do not know anything about cosmetics: do I stand a chance? 

Less than one-third of our apprentices have had previous experiences in the beauty industry. We give more credit to other essential qualities such as entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and the ability to question and dare. 

Can you tell me a bit more about L’Oréal? 

You can start by discovering the Group on our Website and Annual report. 

Zoom in on the Operations business lines and watch our testimonials on YouTube. 

Discover our social and environmental commitment, and how we aim to be a catalyst for change in the beauty industry and beyond with L’Oréal for the Future.  

Meet Joséphine, Packaging Buyer for the Luxury Division: By The Way.