Graduate System Health Engineer Review

Very much. I was given a respectable amount of responsibility from the outset, but not without the support to be able to make the experience worthwhile. This allowed me to make progress quickly with my tasks and to build up confidence in my areas of work. Overall I have really enjoyed the placement and will remain in contact to determine the continuing effects of the projects I have been involved in.

I feel as if this is down to the individual and how you portray yourself. I endeavoured to act with confidence but also not to appear cocky. By speaking with a range experienced colleagues and asking them to teach me about there systems I managed to build up an expertise in certain areas that led to me making a difference on some big issues. This led to me receiving good feedback, being asked to help in other tasks and overall feeling quite well valued.

Overall probably the perfect amount. I was not babysat but also I was not left stranded. I was set to work but if I struggled there were always peers to ask for help. My line manager introduced me to the whole team on day one and explained my role and everyone else’s role. This allowed me to have the confidence to ask for the support required, and to know who to ask. My line manager also scheduled regular 1-to-1 meetings to check on my progress and ask if any support was required.

Early on in the placement things were slow and tedious, as I learned about my role, surroundings and the tasks I was to be performing. However having completed previous placements I realise this is the norm initially and when I had settled in the work days became much more interesting without reaching the point of stressful. By half way into the placement I had plenty to do every day without finding the need for doing work out of hours.

I was given two projects to own and drive forward from the outset. These tasks were not in need within a small timeframe but did have impacts on the availability of the plant. Overall I believe I was trusted with two quite significant tasks which if completed to a good standard could save the company a lot of money in reduced down-time; so I suppose that is a good amount of responsibility.

The skills I have developed in this placement include a greater technical capacity for fault finding and the communication skills necessary to develop solutions for faults by liaising with subject matter experts. These skills will be invaluable in my career as a mechanical engineer and communication skills generally will be invaluable in future management roles, should I take that route.

The office atmosphere was generally very vibrant and professional. It is a completely open plan office with everyone within my team in close proximity allowing me to create good personal relationships with colleagues which makes life easier when you need help with work tasks. The atmosphere made for an enjoyable placement.

The placement was satisfactorily structured. As the tasks I was assigned were likely to run for the whole of my placement then a proper structure was not really required. However everything was organised prior to me starting, i.e. training inductions booked, computer and desk available and set up etc. This is an improvement on previous placements. It was also straightforward to book and attend any training required.

I was given all training needed and other training requested to allow me to perform my assigned tasks. These were predominantly internally run courses but allowed me the learning and experience to complete my tasks. I also was allowed to attend other internally run courses that interested me. I am unsure as to the investment quantities of this training however.

Very appealing. The organisation is massive with several different sites within the UK, as well as nuclear new build scheduled to begin at Hinkley point. This also means that the range of jobs and experiences that can be gained are vast, you could work within operations and then into decommissioning, or you could work within new build and then transition into operations. Overall there are prospects for anyone.

I did not partake much in this side of things as I lived away from the area; however there was certainly this side to the placement had I been located closer. A number of colleagues regularly met outside of work to play football, go to the gym, cycle, go to quizzes, watch live music etc. This also then allows for good relationships to be created, which benefit the company in general.

Very reasonable. I didn't experience this much with living outside of the area but from speaking with others it is good.

Lancaster is a fun city; and close. Morecambe isn't fantastic,

Yes very much so. As explained above, a number of colleagues regularly met outside of work to play football, go to the gym, cycle, go to quizzes, watch live music etc. As well as this there is a local intranet page which advertises activities that are going on locally and invites people along.