Power Academy Intern Review

This year's placement was fairly enjoyable. Although challenged by the subject matter I felt that the deliverables didn't test me as much as in previous years, though maybe that's just a reflection of how my confidence has grown since starting at National Grid. Overall, good. I think the level of responsibility was not as high as last year, but the variety of work available at National Grid is staggering.

The innovation project we undertook was atypical of my team's day-to-day work, so we didn't interact with them as much as you might expect, though we did get a sense of what they do and did prepare a side project more related to their work. A good number of them turned up to our final presentation though, so that was nice.

In terms of the project managment, our supervisors took a hands-off approach of which I thoroughly approved. The opportunity to work our own way around the problem rather than becoming a surrogate typist for our manager was very important and is something National Grid does well. Personal development by contrast, was lacking. There were no reviews or assessments during the placement, and although we did receive a final review it was all a bit last minute.

Workload ebbed and flowed, but I never stayed late to finish work and we had plenty of time for site visits. National Grid always gives you time to explore other parts of the business, go on site visits, director talks etc. Even at the busiest times during the last few weeks we managed to complete everything in time for our final presentation.

We did have responsibility for the project, but I felt that the project itself was not as important as the one I undertook the previous year in Asset Policy.

Not only did the project work develop my time management, organisational, team working and communication skills, but the additional "bonus" experiences along the way were really helpful too. I attended a 1 day Power Factory training course, drove 260 miles and visited the ENCC in Wokingham. The personal development plan which I prepared will be a great tool over the coming academic year as it has been prevously.

National Grid House is a great space in which to work. The open plan offices and bright colours keep you stimulated and the large variety of meeting spaces make it easy to arrange team meetings of all sizes. There's a great culture of inclusion at National Grid, which saw us invited to a team social one evening, all paid for by the company! Everyone is willing to help with any "stupid" questions you might have, so you learn a lot about the business and the industry just by being at National Grid, regardless of your project. You'll be sharing your workspace with work-class experts so it's a great chance to learn!

This year the IT was flawless - when we arrived we had laptops and logins ready and even a phone extension profile. At one point during the placement we even managed to get Power Factory installed on our machines in under 48 hours, which for a company the size of National Grid is seriously impressive. The mentoring side wasn't so well done. Our manager's name was misspelled on the introductory document we were sent, so we couldn't reach him before the placement. To add to this, he hadn't been invited to the Power Academy briefing session so had no idea how to assess us!

Over 8 weeks there is limited potential for training, but National Grid is always happy to support their employees development and training. One example would be the Power Factory course we attended, and the site visits to various National Grid premises around the country, including the GNCC, ENCC and Solihull office.

After only 2 placements it's clear how varied the placements are at National Grid. I'm really looking forward to another placement with National Grid next year, hopefully on the "Non-Regulated" side. In a year's time I'll know if I have a grad scheme position so I'll be sure to make my last placement a good one.

Definitely one of the best parts about being on placement in Warwick is the social side. This year there were 15 of us living in Leamington Spa, so we had barbeques, nights out, trips to the park and site visits together. Most companies on the Power Academy don't take as many students as National Grid, so I think you'd struggle to get a similar experience anywhere else.

Golden Key Estates provided us with decent houses for the 2 months of our placement for only £250/month. Eating out/going out is no more expensive than at university and as long as you have your council tax exemption forms you won't get stung with any taxes to pay.

There are plenty of pubs, bars and restaurants to choose from in Leamington Spa, and although there's a limited selection of clubs you can still have a good night out. Best restaurant - Las Iguanas, Best bar - Fizzy Moon, Best club - Altoria.

National Grid has loads of sports clubs and societies outside of work, for pretty much anything you could want.