Continuous Improvement Engineer Review

It was a great choice for me to do my placement at Mondelez, as it is not only a highly respected and big company but it also gave me a break from University. The good part of placement was the fact that I was able to take part in many different things across the site helping people from different roles. So, it was quite fun being able to work with so many different people and I learnt a lot from them. Working at a chocolate factory is great fun, but can get very tiring as you have to always be around the factory as an engineer.

With such a massive factory with 900+ workers, I thought that it would be very difficult to get to know people and feel welcome. However, I was totally wrong as everyone who speaks to you once seems to always remember you. The staff generally are very kind and helpful. As an intern I felt that everyone really valued my role and gave me responsibility that you would give to a permanent member of staff. So, there is no need to worry about not becoming an integral part of the company.

Mondelez provided me with a Line manager as well as a mentor. So, everyone has at least two people that they can go to when support is needed. I had regular weekly meetings with my line manager and mentor which meant that I could always tell them about where I stand so they could help me. However, even if both your line manager and mentor were absent from work there were always people around very willing to help.

How busy I was varied during different periods of time at work. Initially, when I first started I was quite busy as I was workign with 2 other interns on 2 different projects, However, then I moved onto doing a Green belt project which gave me some more spare time. Now that the end of my placement is less than 2 months away, I am getting busier again by getting involved with many projects.

I was given the responsibilty that any other permanent memer of staff would. Just because I was an intern, did not stop the company from being worried to give me important tasks. They let me lead important projects by trusting their interns. A good peformance was always reognised by the senior members of staff.

I learnt a great amount in my placement ranging from presentation skills, communication skills, leadership skills to problem solving skiills and teamworking skills. Workign with so many different people such as operator, technicians, management team and engineers really helped me to leant from the best. Every project you do has to be presented to some senior members of staff, So, this will be of great benefit for me when I get back to University as I will have highly developed skills to work with people, present and deal with all types of people.

I was in the factory most of the time, where the atmosphere varied on different production lines. So, different production lines had different operators across the factory who had different attitudes. So, new lines or well performing lines you could expect to have a more positive and fun attitude than those of poorer lines. Overall, I would say there is a neutral type of atmosphere which varies greatly across the factory and on different days.

Overall the internship was set up pretty well, but I felt there was a slight lack of guidance. The company had planned exactly what they wanted us to do in terms of how many projects we would work on and who works where; however there was a slight lack of organisation of teams. It wasn't properly decided who everyone could work with to ensure they get all the support required.

The company gave all the interns Green Belt training and a project to do. If the project managed to sae £35k, they gave a green belt certification. If I asked for an investement in buying or replacing part of a machine for example, they would be happy to invest assuming I hae data to prove it would be a worthy purchase. Also, the company gaev us the opportunity to visit the other factories.

To get a job with the company, as an engineer you are not offered a graduate role directly. You have to reapply but may be fast tracked to asessment centre based on performance. So, it is a bit more difficult than many other companies.

With there being around 20+ interns at Mondelez Bournville, everyone knew each other and socialised together. Many interns live with each other so become good friends. There was a intern gathering almost every weekend.

Birmingham is not too expensive when you compare it to London for example, so the cost was reasonable for a placement student. You earn enough money to be able to save some but also have the money to go out and have fun. Birmingham is probably one of the best and nicest places you could do an internship in. Great city!

Birmingham broad street is the ideal destination for night life. With so mnay different clubs around, you are bound to find a bar/club that you will love. Having been here almost a year now there are still many bars/clubs that I haven't visited. So, there are endless options.

I was givent the opportunity to go to the Mondelez joy festival where you go to universities to promote Mondelez. There was a massive Christmas party in December and also some charoty football. There is also a Cadbury social club which you can go to after work with colleagues.