Power Academy Student Review

It was an interesting experience learning about the day to day workings of a huge company like National Grid, and although some of the tasks were fairly mundane, it was fun going on site visits and seeing what goes on "behind the scenes"

My boss and co-workers were all extremely friendly. It is a casual work environment and it is very easy to talk to and have a laugh with the people around you during lunch etc.

I was given free reign to ask anything I was having trouble with, and when I did they were always very helpful and thourough in the explanation.

There have been a few days where i haven't had very much to do (eg if my boss is away for the day) but in general i have always had something to be getting on with since the start. As mentioned some of the work was repetitive (someone has to do it!) but i was given the opertunity to improvise to make it easier for myself (which i did)

After spreadsheets i was given a project which had been left on the sidelines for a few years. As such, expertise on the subject was very limited and so i was free to gather knowlege from various sources and produce a document which not many other people would have had the time or knowlege to do.

As National Grid is a power engineering company, and my course is electrical engineering, so nearly everything i learned was new material. Although it will probably not directly influence my studies, it gives me a broaden range of knowlege and gives context for some of the theories which i have learned in university. The experience of a large company may also give me an advantage when it come to getting a job in the future.

Although it was not particularly dull, it is still an office block, so the excitment is somewhat limited. Having said that, most people are cheery most of the time, so it is never a depressing place to work.

It could have been better, although it didnt really affect me in the long run. Most of the disorginisation was more to do with the buerocracy involved in doing anything in a large company, as opposed to the people not wanting to help.

Many people gave up a lot of time to either organise the placements or to help us while we were here. It wasnt uncommon that i would spend several hours with someone who gave me help. In terms of actual training though, we didn't go on any formal courses, however i think the benefits of that would have been small, if any.

I think that i would be fairly interested in working here after university, as you are given the opertunity to change your role fairly frequently. I would reserve judgement until later though, as I still have another 4 placements to go (with any luck!) before the graduate scheme

As there were 20 of us on this particular scheme, and more on other schemes, i am friends with a lot of different people now, and we have had several organised socials/ days out.

The house i am living in was very cheap (£55 a week) sharing with 5 other people. Obviously it is not of a particularly high standard but the house works just fine for me. The cost of socialising was pretty much the same price as anywhere else, with each place having their own deals and special days.

There are a fair ammount of bars/ pubs and a couple of clubs in Leamington, all within walking distance of where i am living.

Aside from site visits, there werent a great deal of outside activities. One that i have been offered was a workshop weekend called Imagineering, however that happens on the weekend after my last day so i am unable to attend due to my travel arrangements.