Industrial Trainee Review

My placement was a very enjoyable year and I was able to get involved in many different projects.

Everyone was very welcoming and helpful.

I had an appraisal half way through my placement in which I was able to voice any issues I was having.

Sometimes I was left with nothing to do, as the workload was not able to be carried out by someone of my grade.

I'd say that I was given just about the right amount of responsibility in my placement, as I was never left completely by myself when I wasn't sure what to do.

I will definitely use what I have learned in my university degree, as it has given me a good understanding of the basics and the commercial side of the business.

The atmosphere was good in the office, we moved office halfway through the year into a brand new building with amazing facilities, so this helped with the atmosphere. Also, there were plenty of social events which made sure everyone always had something to look forward to and chat about.

Generally, my placement was well organised, although there wasn't any set programme for me, I was placed in the team and towards the end of the year was allowed to do more of the work that I had an interest in, overall this worked very well and has proved to be a great experience.

I attended many training courses in order to learn and keep up to date with any changes that were happening throughout the year. A possible downside would be that there were a couple of things that more senior staff were involved in that I didnt have the opportunity to be involved in, although this is to be expected as a student.

On completing my placement I will certainly keep Arup in mind when applying for a future job. It is reassuring that many of the current and past graduates working in the office were placements before, this shows that a placement is not forgotten about when graduate interviews come around. I think anyone who has worked there would want to return, as they treat the staff so well!

The office has a social committee which regularly organise events, which allowed people to get to know each other outside of the office.

I lived at home as the office was in my home town, but I know from experience that it is cheap enough to live. Also the bars and clubs tend to be cheaper than most, especially on student nights.

The nightlife in Belfast is a mixed bag, depending on where you go, who is there and what night it is, it can either be brilliant or non-existent, although this is changing as the city has recently gone through some regeneration to make things a bit better.

There were a few opportunities, especially for the male members of staff, who had 5 a side football most weeks, and even attended a competition during the summer. For the girls there is a bit less to do.