HR Placement Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Knorr-Bremse over a 13 month period in the HR Department. Throughout my placement I was given a lot of responsibility, enabling myself to become a key member of the team. My placement provided me with an opportunity to explore all areas of HR, which aided my development as well as my personal interest in the topic. Towards the end of my placement I had sole responsibility for multiple ongoing projects, which required me to communicate to key stakeholders around the business I may not have spoken to before. Throughout my placement I had the opportunity to travel to multiple sites across the UK (Milton Keynes, Glasgow etc.), as well as visit the company headquarters in Munich, Germany. Overall I would highly recommend the placement scheme at Knorr-Bremse to all students interested in pursuing a 12 month placement.

Everybody at Knorr-Bremse is very welcoming and I felt valued during my 12 month placement. I felt comfortable since day one and I was confident in approaching a variety of people. Throughout the office there is a relaxed but professional feel about the organisation which makes it an enjoyable place to work.

I was fortunate during my placement to have a very supportive manager. During the start of my placement I had weekly catch ups to review my workload, discuss upcoming projects and highlight any areas of concern I may have. As I was the first placement student in HR, I was given extra guidance from my manager and the rest of the team to ensure my placement was enjoyable. Other managers around the business are very interested in the placement scheme at Knorr-Bremse, offering a variety of development opportunities where appropriate.

At the beginning of my placement my workload was steady as this was my first office-based role. As I progressed through my placement my workload increased as I took on more responsibility and oversaw a variety of key projects, making my role a lot more enjoyable. I always had projects and work on the go which meant I was always busy on a day-to-day basis.

As I progressed through my placement my levels of responsibility continued to increase as my manager and colleagues became aware of my key skills. I was given multiple projects during my placement which demonstrates how important a placement student can be to a department. Being given this responsibility allowed me to interact with many departments, providing me with the opportunity to work in cross-functional teams.

Throughout my placement I felt I developed and improved the majority of my soft skills, mainly communication, team working and leadership. I also received competency based interview training which was useful during my placement, as well as when I went back to university to complete my final year. I felt my placement developed myself a lot as a person which enabled me to excel in my final year at university.

The atmosphere in the office was good the majority of the time. With the main office being open planned, you could easily speak to a wide range of people. Everyone is friendly and open to having a good laugh. Sometimes the noise levels can be difficult to deal with especially if you are trying to concentrate, however this isn’t usually a problem.

As I was only the second year of placement students to join Knorr-Bremse, the scheme was still in the process of being officially set up. Despite this, the placement scheme was well coordinated by HR and the line managers. The placement scheme has now progressed from initially 3 people to over 20 in 2017/18, with a more solid structure in place for new students.

Towards the end of my placement the company introduced a new graduate scheme, which takes students directly from the placement scheme (if you are successful during your placement). This offers students a fantastic opportunity whilst on placement as there is the chance you can get invited back on to the graduate scheme. Employment prospects are good at Knorr-Bremse and it is common for employees to get internal promotions.

I was fortunate to be in a close friendship group with the majority of the placement students, which meant we socialised as group on occasion. In terms of socialising with work colleagues, this didn’t happen that often, mainly due to the location of the site. However as I made more friends throughout my placements I started to socialise more outside of work with colleagues.

I didn’t live in the local area during my placement, however I do believe accommodation is pretty reasonable. The majority of students like to live in Bath due to the preference to live in a city, as well as the more vibrant night life compared to Melksham! However Bath is only 30 minutes commute so is a viable option.

This is the one downside of working at KB, the nightlife is non-existent in Melksham!

During my placement I got involved in five-a-side football held at a sports centre only 500m away.