RDQ Intern - Chocolate Review

It has its ups and downs but overall I have really enjoyed the experience. Everybody is very friendly and welcoming and give you a helping hand. You are given the responsibility of having your own projects to manage. Some of them can be brand new, or they can be passed on by another colleague.

I feel very valued. I have been given the opportunity to be a technical lead for one of my projects. This has given me the opportunity to work with a variety of people from different areas of the business. I feel that I am very listened to and am asked for advice.

Regular meetings with my manager to ensure that I am getting the most out of my year. Very keen to help in any way he can, challenging me to ensure that I have a strong grasp on what it is that I am doing, why I am doing it and what my next steps need to be.

Varies from day to day. Getting busier as the year goes on, as I am being trusted with more tasks. As I grow more confident with the work I am also able to challenge as to why it is being done this way and could we do it better this way...

Varies from project to project to project. The projects and technology that I am more confident with I am given more of a lead role on then the newer areas to me. I own an area from a technical point of view.

Made me challenge things a bit more and really want to understand when things happen, why they happen.

Really nice! Everyone is very friendly and welcoming and happy to assist you in getting the most out of your placement. You are given a buddy along with your line manager, who is there to support you in the more pastoral side of working. All of the individuals in my team are very approachable and have helped me through a range of difficulties, from emotional to professional. I know that I will leave this placement as a completely different person.

My manager contacted me before starting about what I was to expect on my first day. He was waiting for me when I got there and had everything ready for me. While all of my projects weren't necessarily ready for me, I was found other things to help out on in the mean time. This furthered my skills in different processes anyway.

Training in lots of different ways of chocolate making. I am in a team where lots is going on so, if you ask they will try to make it happen! I have had lots of hands on experience in different areas. I have also had plenty of training sessions available to me throughout my time. This has ranged form manual handling to sensory for cocoa liquor. We also have a chance as interns to explore the different areas in the business and pull it all together for a challenge. In this we get the chance to present this to the senior managers.

At the end of the internship some of the interns will be offered contracts with the company after they graduate. There are also plenty of opportunities to directly apply after graduation as there area steady stream of jobs that become available. Many people move around the company to many different positions with promotions.

Very good. There is a large number of interns within the department and we were all put in contact with each other before the internship started. This allowed us to look for houses together and get to know each other a bit before working together. Outside of work there is plenty to do with each other and plenty of chance to get to know each other better. Inside of work, we have the chance to work together on projects and on the intern challenge.

Compared to where I am at University it is pretty similar price for rent and bills. As for socialising, it depends what you choose to do socially. There are plenty of clubs, but also plenty of things you can do for slightly cheaper, like going for walks. However, as you also get paid, there is plenty for you to do with that money!

The night life in the direct area is not that good. However, you are not too far from the centre of Birmingham, so you have that night life. You are also close to the university of Birmingham so there is plenty of night life there. You can also join some of the university clubs, so that is a good way to meet people.

Plenty! There is such a large number of interns that there is plenty of people to do things with. With such a large group of people, with different passions, there is plenty of different things that you can try. There are also a number of social clubs within the company that you are free to join. If you make friends with your colleagues there are also plenty of opportunities there.