Undergraduate Trainee in Body Engineering Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with Jaguar Land Rover. I had the opportunity to work in 5 different teams around the business which has given me a great insight into different aspects of the automotive industry. After getting over the initial hurdle of joining a new team, it was easy to get to know everyone and what the team does and in no time I was using the lingo and acronyms as well as the different software needed for each job role.

I felt like a valued member of the team. I was given meaningful work and I felt as though I contributed something to each team I was in. As soon as I arrived, I was introduced to everyone and I had the opportunity to sit with different people to hear about their job role. I also had the opportunity to give a presentation about myself and university experience so far in a couple of the teams I was a part of.

I had a supervisor I saw daily, a manager I met with bi-weekly and a mentor I saw monthly. The support I received was great and I could get help whenever I needed it. Due to the open work environment, it was very easy to go up to anyone at any time. It was equally as easy to drop them a mail with a calendar invite to set up a meeting if needed.

Generally, I was given sufficient work to keep me busy. For some of my placement rotations however, I only spent a small amount of time with the team and the work balance wasn’t ideal because I was only given work in very small increments and I felt as though there were unnecessary breaks between some of the projects I was involved with.

My level of responsibility varied wildly with each team I was in but generally I was given a good level of responsibility and I was even asked to present my work in cross-functional meetings. Some of the projects I worked on were presented to senior level which made me very proud.

I have definitely gained skills for life. I had the opportunity to attend many training sessions and I also did eLearning courses. Some particularly helpful training sessions I attended with regards to my degree are: CAD training (using Catia V5) and Yellow belt problem solving training which highlighted many things I had been taught in my Quality Management module at university.

The offices have a very relaxed atmosphere. Due to smarter working (where people don’t have fixed desks but rather an area their team is situated), I had the opportunity to sit next to different people nearly every day which helped me with building my network. Everyone was approachable too which was great.

The overall placement was moderately well organised. It took longer than I expected to finalise the objectives for my ‘home’ team but for some of the mini placements I went on, the objectives were set long before I started and were followed through very well. The general placement structure was good and we were given a curriculum on our first day with useful information such as workshops and mandatory training.

The company invests in employees to a good extent. I was allowed to attend training in anything I was interested in and found relevant. There is also a scheme available that provides you with £200 a year to learn anything from cooking to skydiving. I used the money for learner driving lessons.

Future employment prospects are great! I recently submitted my end of year review and met with my manager to discuss objectives and to show him the work I had done while on my placements. I was pleased at the end of it when he informed me I have the chance to either come back as a grad next year or if I decide to do the masters, I can come back next summer for another placement.

The placement scene wasn’t bad. Initially when the 3 month placement guys were still here, it was a lot more social as we all lived in Coventry but most of the year-long people worked in Whitley and not Gaydon so socialising was more difficult. However, a few things were organised during the duration of the year.

I lived in Coventry and worked in Gaydon (bad idea! It is much better to try to find a house is Leamington Spa instead). The living cost was very expensive and the distance to work meant I had to be up very early everyday. Traffic was not great either (especially leaving work because of all the building works). The social scene in both Coventry and Leamington aren’t bad.

The nightlife was okay. Some nights better than others. Coventry and Leamington have many bars and clubs within walking distance.

I hear some guys were involved with football with other undergrads but I was not interested. I do not know of anything else. However, some of my teams had socials or pub lunches which was nice.