Customer Quality Student Review

The placement was enjoyable overall, with some periods of stress (as expected from an industrial placement) and some very slow periods. The company, is a great company to work for. I have had the opportunity to go abroad several times, and several opportunities to visit the customer production plants on tours.

I do feel valued by my supervisor as he often has a lot of work handed to him that he cannot handle all of it. I assist him with most of this, depending on how much I can help. I have been given one major project whilst on placement, delivering a database for the use of people of all levels, from Senior Managers (head of the CBU division) all the way down to other students in the division.

I have received unofficial guidance from my predecessor with regards to the work I have to compete monthly, and some of the other deadlines that were from his position. Management has given some support, but the majority of the support comes from my supervisor as he is based in the uk with me. My manager is based in Spain, so I haven't seen him so often, but at least once a month we have had meetings, face to face or on the phone, to discuss issues etc.

I was busy on the majority of days, but then when it gets to the end of the month, the workload starts to decline. This is because many of the time sensitive items are due within the first two weeks of the month, whereas there aren't many deadlines to the end of the month.

I wasn't given much responsibility. I was expecting the level of responsibility to increase with the length of time on placement, but that didn't happen. All of my work has to go through my supervisor, meaning I loose some if not all of the credit for the work, even if I have completed all of it. This can be quite frustrating, especially when I am not invited to the meetings to present my work. I understand that work has to go up before it can go out, but the majority of what I do doesn't get sent out by me, and the trail of who has done what is lost, even if the person sending on the data, has done nothing to it,

I have had several training sessions including D/PFMEA and other minor training sessions. I have done a couple of training sessions from customers, covering the Quality Processes etc etc. The majority of the stuff I have learned, has been self taught, covering many programs including excel.

The atmosphere in the Shirley office is very good, it's generally a quiet office space, but it has the potentional to get busy with the FIS and FECT JLR CBU divisions hosting monthly or bimonthly meetings with a full team of JLR and Faurecia members. The office is in a well maintained building, that allows for an easier workspace. The office is well equipped, with a water dispenser, coffee machine and tea facilities.

The handover period from the previous placement student was not well organised. Instead of producing a document or set of documents to hand over, he decided to just show me. As I had 6 weeks of handover with this guy, it was a very long and slow process as he had no plan of action. If there had been a plan of action, then the handover period would have been much smoother. Beyond the handover, the placement was organised, with deadlines and new projects popping up all over the place.

Future career prospects look great with Faurecia as there is a new Graduate Scheme being put into place, along with the French Governments VIE Program, which allows you to work abroad within Faurecia. This is a great opportunity.

The social scene is pretty good. Several lunch meals have been organised, as a get together and also as a celebration of project acquisition. Other meals / events have included a Christmas meal, a Faurecian day event, and also watching the international Football match with the customers.

Within Shirley, the price of living is quite expensive, but that's because it is the south of Birmingham/Solihull. Both of these areas are quite expensive, but then there are areas near by that are cheaper. Socialising isn't so easy as the most of the areas are very domestic as opposed to industrial or closer to the city centre.

Nightlife in Solihull is fairly decent, but Birmingham is not a long distance away, and the transport links to New street are easy, quick and cheap. There are other areas within the Birmingham area, such as Mosely. A rather hipster area, that allows the expression of anything and everything!