Site Engineer Review

I really enjoyed my placement with Laing O'Rourke getting the chance to work on industry leading projects such as Crossrail. The work is hands on and site based allowing you to get involved and become a useful member of the team which I found the best way to learn. During the placement I enjoyed attended weekly lecture calls which I found interesting and relevant to help expand your knowledge of the construction industry. I will be returning for a second placement.

During the summer placement you become a used member of the team and not just a shadow. Even though you are young and inexperienced, you get get a significant amount of responsibility and do not get talked down to by management. The work force on site are also happy to help you learn. LOR gives the interns a group project to do in teams of six which results in a final presentation at head office with senior management attending and taking notes which makes your work worthwhile.

Nearly every employee of LOR who I met during my placement was only too happy to help me learn if I asked a question. All my tutors were very helpful both with developing my skills and sorting out my queries such as pay issues to IT problems. You have an end of term review with a member of senior management which is useful to get feedback on your performance. The internship is well organised with a list of learning objectives which you have to actively complete and get signed off.

This can vary day to day depending on the activities onsite and which site you are located at. Some days site can be very busy and the long hours makes for exhausting days. On other days when site is quiet, you can spend time in the office working on the group project or doing general research. During my placement I got transferred to several different sites due to project delays. Whilst this is a common feature of the industry it highlighted to me the variation of placement experiences depending on where you are placed.

The summer placement is great if you want to have lots of responsibility. I was entrusted to go on a work trip on my own to Edinburgh in my third week in order to carry out work on a LOR project. I was given a fair amount of responsibility onsite too, filling in documentation such as the site diary. Despite having no previous construction site experience, I was able to go out onsite on my own and carry out tasks without supervision once I was inducted. It teaches you to use your initiative.

My confidence and knowledge of site systems was greatly developed during the placement. However, development of my technical knowledge was limited as I believe this will be something I develop in later placements now I have the basics. You do however learn terminology which will help knowing what the theory at university is referring to. Also, I got the opportunity to use surveying equipment which will help with my surveying module.

The atmosphere depends on which project you are placed at. If you are at a big time pressured project the office environment can be stressful and intimidating if you are not used to it. On the other hand, if you are on a quiet project, there can be times where the office is very empty and quiet. There are more women and young people at bigger projects particularly in cities such as London. The bigger projects tend to be more sociable as well going out for drinks after work.

The summer placement was well organised with all the interns meeting at the start and end of the placement. Weekly lecture call and a group project add to your every day work to enhance the learning experience. There are lists of skills to get signed off during the experience which sets a basis of a minimum level of learning. My personal placement saw me go to three different projects which was great for seeing a wide variety of what LOR does but meant my technical learning was limited as I couldn't get stuck into one project. This was due to project delays which is just a feature of the construction industry.

They invested a lot of time and money into the interns. They paid for all travel expenses for any trips you had to make away from your project office as well as paid a subsistence allowance to help you live away from home. In terms of training, holding two days where the interns met up for presentations as well as weekly lecture calls. There was also a networking bbq with senior managers at the head office which allowed the interns to gain advice and get feedback.

I have been offered a second placement which was based on my performance in the first placement. I have been told depending on my next placement, they may offer me a graduate position. If you want to work a LOR I would recommend completing the summer placement scheme. The company seems to value training programmes highly so it is a great company to train with through your early career.

The interns met up for a welcome day as well as a final bbq at head office. There was also a group project to complete that meant you communicates on social media with other interns. It depends on the project you work on whether you have any other interns within you office. Personally I did not have any other interns on my project.

London was expensive to get lunch and travel, however I commuted in from living in Cambridge. There was a site canteen but it was not used normally by the management. Living in Cambridge was expensive to socialise, accommodation was cheaper as it was my university halls and I cycled so transport cost was negligible.

Did not go out in London. Cambridge is a university town so has some night clubs but empty during the summer.

On the sites I was there were occasionally drinks after work but other than this there was little opportunity.