Industrial Placement Student Review

I initially had many misconceptions of working in a bank, however, my placement at Lloyds Banking Group proved me wrong. I have thoroughly enjoyed my year here as it provided a great balance between work and socials. You are not permitted to work long hours as long as you complete everything that is expected from you and there is always different work socials during the week to keep you entertained.

My colleagues were extremely supportive during my time here. I never once felt I was a standard 'intern' with mundane tasks. After a month of training I was put on to work related tasks straightaway. I was given positive feedback for my work which was a great boost to start the year.

You will have weekly 1-2-1s with your line manager. In these catch-ups I was able to express any concerns I may have with my work confidentially. There was also opportunity for me to work on my self-development and I was able at times to preference what tasks I could get involved in.

This varied at times depending on project demands. There were times when issues needed to be solved as quickly as possible before the deadline so extra hours needed to be put in. However, with the introduction of well-being week, this was a chance for colleagues to work within their control.

Within the first month, I was given plenty of responsibility getting straight into project tasks. As my technical knowledge, I was put on more complex tasks. In Q3 of my placement, I was given an opportunity to manage a project which was a great opportunity to test my organisation and communication skills.

My skillset has intensely grown over this year and I would strongly recommend for everyone to complete a placement year during their degree. Some skills I have developed are presentation skills, communication, time-management and personal confidence. Going into the ‘real world’ straight after university can seem quite daunting, however, a placement year allows you to have a taste on what’s out there and give you that extra step on to the career ladder.

There was great team spirit in my department with numerous work socials including go-karting, laser quest and paintballing. At Lloyds Banking Group, they encourage us to celebrate our project successes giving colleagues the motivation to keep delivering.

The work placement was very organised. At Lloyds Banking Group, there are just under 100 industrial placement students so the company knows what to expect from us and what's the best way to start us off.

Lloyds Banking Group invested a lot of training during my time here. I am in a techincal role which requires coding skills. I hadn't done any coding at university but there wasn't any need to worry as there were many coding training sessions to teach us. There were also Excel training sessions as well as a few specific training days where we could choose what training courses we wanted to embark on.

Industrial Placement students get the opportunity to apply for the graduate scheme when performing at a certain level.

As I said before, there were many social events through the Industrial Placement community and in the department I worked in.

Being situated in London, one can expect the prices for drinks and rent were very high especially comparing it to university. Drinks average £5/pint and rent average £700/month.

London is the capital city so the nightlife was of course brilliant! Many bars & clubs .

London is the capital city so there are many opportunities to pick up a new hobby.