Communications Officer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement at GSK Worthing. I felt I was given responsibility and had a real impact on the site. Everyday seemed to provide a different challenge meaning that no two days ever felt the same. The work I completed was energising and invigorating. Working for a company like GSK is enjoyable as it is a company that really lives its values.

I did feel valued by the colleagues that I came into close contact with. When I assisted with work or provided support I felt as though I was incredibly valued by those I had helped, with positive feedback being given constantly. However I did feel there was a perception on the site that the work Industrial Placement students do is not as important.

Me and my manager worked in a close team so had regular weekly 1 to 1 meetings. Any issues that would arise I would bring up and these would be discussed. Towards the end of my placement however this started to tail off as many projects we were working on were drawing to a close leading to high pressure- resulting in these meetings becoming less frequent.

On most days I found that I was busy with many tasks and projects going on at the same time, when I had finished all the work allocated I would bring this up with my manager who would give me more work to complete. . I did feel however on days that my manager was not present that if I had run out of work to do it would be a struggle to find something to keep me occupied.

I was given a large amount of responsibility throughout the placement. Initially I was often supporting projects and events but by the end of the placement I had acquired the skills in order to run projects myself. I feel that this is a good way of learning as you gain the skills needed initially and have support, before being given independence to work on it alone.

The main skills this placement gave me was a broader understanding of the work based environment. I have acquired the skills to be able to function in the work based environment. In terms of studies I feel that it will assist me in some ways, but due to the difference between my role and my course I haven't have developed as many skills as I would have liked to.

The atmosphere in my office wasn't particularly great. I was the only person in the office of my age, and gender. This meant that at times I didn't feel I could add to the general office "chit chat" that occurs.

I feel like the site could have done more at the start to improve the placement. Often we kept to our own departments and their could have been more networking and development events. I feel as though the site could have invested slightly more in the students to convince more that GSK was the place to start your career.

I feel that their was not any major investment in terms of training and development. I completed all the company based training programmes that any employee would have to complete, none of which I felt have added to my skills or abilities. I feel that as a site their needs to be a more major investment in the placement students to make them feel more valued and appreciated.

Future employment opportunities within GSK are very appealing, although at the same time they are very competitive. The FLP (Future Leaders Programme) is the graduate scheme offered by GSK and it caters for a wide range of carer paths. As an Industrial Placement students you are given the chance to apply early VIA a recommendation from your managers. During the year we are given lots of information about it and its a career path I am very invested with going down.

The social scene amongst all of the placement students was very good. I lived with 3 others placement students and we would often go out to local restaurants and bars at the weekend along with other students on placement. As their is 20 students on placement in Worthing there is often a lot going on and a lot to get involved in. We also used to play football weekly as a group of IPs, along with graduates and other employees.

I was lucky with my living arrangements as we managed to find a relatively cheap house, other students weren't as lucky and were paying around £600 a month. The cost of socialising is as you'd expect for a town in the south of England, not too shocking in terms of price.

The nightlife was surprisingly good! Brighton is in close proximity and only 30 minutes drive/train. Around half of the placement students lived in Brighton, the rest living around Worthing and surrounding Towns. Brighton has a lot going on, as you would expect, with a wide range of pubs and clubs. Worthing also has a surprisingly good nightlife with a lot of bars and a couple of clubs that aren't too bad for the odd visit!

Not particularly, unless they have been organised by us industrial placement students then there isn't really many opportunities. There are often department meals but that is about it. There is the chance to get involved as a STEM ambassador and visit schools in the region to help them get involved, and interested, in science and engineering based activities!.