Power Academy Scholar Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my Power Academy placement with National Grid, there was plenty of work where the purpose of it was clearly outlined. This kept me busy and I also managed to fit in various site visits and attend talks.

The department I worked in were all very friendly and welcomed me into the team. I felt that the work I had produced was valued by my colleagues and they also gave me lots of feedback of which I benefited from.

Throughout my placement the support and guidance I required was provided when I required it and it was very helpful. However, my line manager was away for several weeks of my placement but there was a lot of other people who were happy to help.

Day to day I was kept very busy with numerous objectives outlined at the beginning of the placement. This work varied from technical documentation to working on spreadsheets. Alongside my work, I managed to attend several site visits. Overall the amount of work given was enough to keep me busy throughout the placement.

I was given the opportunity to work on some important documentation to the department I was working in which made me feel valued. Also, my research findings which I presented could be implemented into National Grid with further review. There was a fair amount of responsibility as there was a reliance on the completion of my work.

I developed a wide range of skills throughout my placement. There was a great deal of resources to expand my technical understanding and this was further enhanced with the specialists who were dedicating their time to spend with me. There was many opportunities to develop presentation and communication skills through team talks and meetings. I feel as if I will go back to university with greater engineering knowledge and soft skills to aid in my final year.

The atmosphere in the office was great, every morning always started on a positive and the employees are all very friendly. The hot desk system made me meet a wide range of people who were always very friendly.

The placement was well organised with my project objectives clearly outlined at the beginning of my placement and what was expected of me. This helped me to settle into the placement comfortably and whenever I required any assistance it was simple to arrange. The set up of the placement was organised from HR and everything we required was provided to us.

The company invested a great deal of time from the amount of employees who were happy to sit down and dedicate a few hours to assist in helping me, whether it be work or general talks about the business. There was also several opportunities to visit different sites which really enhanced my placement and understanding of National Grid.

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement and through various department talks to the Power Academy students there were a number of graduate opportunities for the future which stand out to me. I feel as if National Grid is a great company to work for and that they are keen to invest a lot in the future graduates.

There was a great social atmosphere between the Power Academy scholars, we managed to arrange shared housing before our placement which was a lot of fun. Several times a week and especially on weekends we would meet up to play sports or go for drinks, keeping us busy in the evenings. Everyone always got involved and we would all meet up for lunch for at work.

Living in Leamington Spa was generally cheap housing and the commute to work was simple.

There are 2 main clubs to go but a lot of pubs in the area.

We would meet up occasionally in the week outside of work hours for social events to play sports or relax. This was a good end to the day and I never felt as if I had nothing to do in the evenings.