Trade Compliance Intern Review

Working for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for 14 months (due to finish in September) has been the most exciting and challenging year so far with endless opportunities and experiences made. I thouroughly enjoyed it and have loved every moment. I have been lucky enough to travel, create a strong network of people internally and externally, participate with numerous projects, play a strong role within the team and to get involved with all aspects of the business. I am continuously learning, developing skills and gaining knowledge in my are of work. I would love to return to Rolls-Royce in the near future.

The team I work with are fantastic. They have all been very supportive and encouraging throughout my year so far. Within my role I am lucky to have met a wide range people throughout the whole business, thanks to my networking and involvement with various departments. I am often asked by my colleagues to assist with little tasks here and there, which I enjoy as I like to help people even if it is something little. By participating and supprting in numerous projects involving numerous people from various departments, I like to think that my work and effort is noticed and valued by my colleagues.

I could not have asked for better management throughout my placement year. My line manager in particular has been incredibly supportive and has on several occasions pushed me out of my comfort zone for a good reason!). I am eternally grateful for the support and guidance from my manager. She has helped me to develop professional and personally by giving me endless opportunties and experiences throughout the year. I have been able to meet people from all other the business, not just in the UK, but also in the USA, China, Middle East and many other global locations. I feel my manager has put a lot of her own time and effort into my development, which has enabled me to truly flourish and make my placement year a success.

Busy is an understatement! My every day working team is just my manager and myself, we are the only two working in our "department". Therefore, as you can expect, we truly are always busy. However, this is not a bad thing. My role is active all year round; with events and motor shows throughout the year, the pace never slows down. It is continuously working on one event to the next. From the USA to Japan, the events and work load varies depending on the destination. I am continuously researching and learning about new country requirements critical for my role. No day is the same. I have thoroughly emjoyed working in such an exciting and fast-pace environment.

I feel that I have been given a considerable amount of responsibility during my work placement. Where it is just my manager and myself in our team, I have numerous tasks and projects to handle independently; making decisions and taking risks. Some of the bigger projects we work on, we work on together. Particular tasks and projects require the support and guidance from my manager and different people in various departments. However, in general, I like to think that I am trusted by my manager and the wider team and have been responsible for numerous ongoing projects and activities.

I have developed a wide range of skills throughout my work placement so far. The support and opportunities given to me by my manager and the wider team have enabled me to highlight my strenghts and weaknesses in the business world. In particular, I feel that I have enhanced my presentation and communication skills. I have been given the opportunity on several occasions to present in meetings and in workshops, which before my work placement I would have been very nervous about. However, the more opportunities I had to do this the more I enjoyed it. I feel that I have a better understanding of how to communicate and behave in the work-environment, also strengthening my professional skills. Another key skill I have developed is my team work, I believe that I am a good team player and enjoy taking part. Throughout my work placement, I have developed more and more confidence with team discussions and with contributing and suggesting ideas. All skills learnt throughout my work placement will most certainly benefit me during my final year at University.

My "pod" are great! My days at work would not be the same without them! The 4 of us don't go a day without laughing, it makes the working day lots of fun. The general atmosphere in the office goes up and down. Sometimes it's lively and buzzy (like my pod), however, some days it can be the complete opposite and very quiet. However, this isn't a bad thing, everyone is just having a busy day! In the whole, the general atmsosphere in the office is friendly and welcoming, with lots going on.

At the start of the placement I feel there could have been a little more support from the HR department, however, this improved throughout. My IT setup was a little slow at the beginning, however, this is IT for you and luckily it did not have a huge affect on my first few weeks. I didn't know where I was going a few times, but I soon found my way around and everyone is willing to help. There is an intern committee who arrange day trips to other plants and workshops to support interns' developments (i.e. CV and LinkedIn workshop). These were hugely beneficial to us interns with guidance on preparing for the future, such as the graduate scheme.

I believe that in terms of personal training and development, this is limited for interns. There is not a lot of training that takes place. I think this is because we are there for a year and a lot of the training could take a couple of months. For me personally, the only training I have had is for the intranet. I was nominated editor for my wider team, therefore, had a couple of weeks training for this, learning to create and edit the intranet site. I feel that there could have been more personal training and development for interns, such as support in preparing for the graduate scheme and entry level jobs.

I would love to go back! I have really enjoyed my work placement and don't want it to come to an end. I have gained so much experience, knowledge and subject specific expertise that it would be a shame to not develop this further within the organisation. The idea of returning to Rolls-Royce in the near future is very exciting and an opportunity that I would take in a flash!

The social scene amongst the interns was pretty good. There were regular events taking place throughout the year, such as pub crawls, day trips, events, concerts, meals, etc. The intern bunch are quite sociable and like to go out. With the interns being new to the area, everyone wants to get to know everyone and experience whats around. The social scence amongst my team is also great! We have been out on day trips and to events every now and then which have been a laugh!

The cost of living is reasonable and there are loads of pubs and restuarants around that are always buzzing.

The nighlife isn't great if you like the clubbing scence. However, there are some lovely pubs and restaurants close by.

There is the opportunity to get involved with charity work and sports teams. However, apart from that I am not aware of any others.