Analyst Review

The Risk Industrial Placement at LBG was very enjoyable, with lots of extra activities available as a placement student. These included things such as the "IP Charity Challenge", where we competed across sites to raise as much money for charity as possible over five months. My only negative would be that the work has at times been a bit "samey" and from time-to-time I have found myself a little bored.

You are really made to feel like a permanent member of the team from day one. At the end of the day, you are there for 12 months, which is a significant amount of time, so they would be foolish not to. Whenever I have been set tasks, I have always had the full backing of colleagues, which really boosted my confidence and definitely made me feel valued!

I feel I have been given a good level of support by management, but at the same time I have kept my independence - you don't want to feel like you're still under teachers rule! The balance has been just right between receiving guidance and support, but not mollycoddling me through the year.

At peak times I have been very busy (never over-busy, to the extent that I've felt run down to the ground), however I have found myself bored at times and struggling to find anything to do. This has felt particularly apt when seeing colleagues always having some sort of work to do.

I have been given a good deal of responsibility over the past year, which has definitely grown as I have grown in to the role. From producing a monthly pack that goes to senior leaders, to doing pieces of work that have led to permanent changes in the team, I definitely feel like I have been given the responsibility to make a difference.

The skills and training I have built up over the year will go a long way to assisting me in my future career path - getting a years experience at such a large company has been invaluable for my career aspirations and I have learnt so much about what goes on behind the scenes. I don't feel like the placement has assisted my degree as much as I had hoped it would, other than developing my analytical, organisational and time-management skills.

The atmosphere was generally very good over the year - everyone was always very friendly and supportive and there were countless charity events going on which always raised spirits as well. The only contradiction to this, is at times my team has been very quiet, especially compared to some around us, however this is due to being in such a small team - there's only so much we can talk about!

The placement with LBG is outsourced to a company called Pontoon (used to be Hyphen), so all holiday / sickness / general admin has to go through them and your management at LBG, which at times can be a bit of a headache. I was also told that I would meet / speak to my representative from Pontoon at some point in the year, but 12 months on and this hasn't happened. These are both minor bugbears, however, and generally the placement is well organised.

The main skill I have learnt over the year is coding - which in the 21st century is an invaluable skill! I will say though, I had no idea I would even be learning to code, but this has been the core skill I have used all year. In terms of training and development outside of this, I have been encouraged to present as much as possible over the year, which has been useful as this was one of my biggest weak areas. I have also had a tracker going over the year looking at possible training and development opportunities, so this has definitely helped to tailor the training to my personal needs.

I would definitely consider looking at working for LBG in the future, however not in the same role I have been in this year. The company seems very good to work for, offering a number of extra perks (only for permanent LBG colleagues). I have also found the atmosphere to be very good in the company for a number of reasons - from the numerous charity events, to everyone being so approachable (I often had long, informal chats with my head of function). Overall, LBG seems like a great place to work.

This is something I am not best placed to answer, as I commuted in to London from my hometown, so often couldn't make it to social events, or at least couldn't stay for too long, as I had a train to catch! From what I was able to join in with, the social side of the placement seemed very good, however it did seem to become a bit cliquey between those who went to all socials.

I was based in London... need I say more?! Living at home for the year definitely saved me a fair bit of money (despite the extortionate train ticket prices). However, when I did eat / drink / do anything sociable in London, it cost an arm and a leg! You do get London-weighting on your wage, however that is soon gone once you do anything that involves living a normal life in London.

Again, commuting in to London limited my chances to experience the nightlife, but it's London - there's A LOT to choose from, don't worry about that! Whether you fancy some proper cocktails, a beer, or a full-blown, embarrassing night out, you've got plenty of choice, so nightlife really isn't an issue.

There were plenty of opportunities to do stuff outside of your day-to-day role. The main thing being charity events, something that is very big at LBG. Over my year I took part in a number of charity events outside of work, ranging from building a Santa's Grotto at a local nursery, to playing in a 6-hour five-a-side match. There was also two FIFA tournaments over the year, sweepstakes for Wimbledon / Euro 2016 / Rugby World Cup, Fantasy Football - the list goes on!