Maintenance engineer Review

I found the placement very enjoyable with varied and interesting work. The people and the factory has been a fun and rewarding place to work with a lot of enjoyment and knowledge gained. I would reccomend this placement for industrial experience for engineering students who want to gain confidence and independent working experience

The plant was very welcoming. Each staff member made an effort to learn who I was and a little about me. During my time I was required by most members of the factory floor staff helping out with jobs and also being helped on my own tasks. Everyone was very friendly and inviting throughout the year including participating in social events outside of work, truly an extended family

My managerial supervision was good. However he was very busy in his role so guidance sometimes had to be scheduled and I would be waiting for a window when he was free. Part way through my placement the manager left. Meaning that I had little guidance, this meant I had to be in dependant and find work and projects on my own. This was not an issue for me as I had gained enough experience by this point for me to complete tasks independently anyhow

My workload left space on most days however due to the nature of the role this was required as sporadically jobs would come in that would fill an entire day or multiple days leaving too much day to day tasks building up during a week, this was hard to catch up on at times such as when the plant would be preparing for audits or visitors. All in all it suited my lifestyle as I could really focus on the job at hand then spend a few days catching up with little jobs.

I felt like I was given very little real responsibility. None of my jobs were critical to the running or improvement of the plant. Mostly were superficial jobs to improve the look of something or tidy an area up. I felt like there was plenty of opportunity to work alongside people with jobs that would present some responsibility but the production and management team didn't entrust anything with me despite showing previous real world experience of similar applications

The placement has taught me valuable skills for future life that will be invaluable however it has taught me very little technical skills relevant to my degree. I would say that it was not a waste of time however will not assist my studies technically next year. I have had very little exposure to technical procedures however have had a lot of legislation experience which should allow me to open the door to many jobs where technical skills will be learnt

The office atmosphere was incredibly good. Lots of different people all friendly and open meant that chat would always be flowing, this meant that The working day would fly by which is always handy. The office had shift workers in means that different people were in on a 3 week rota to keep the conversation fresh

The placement was organised well from the HR side of things however when it went down to my manager the organisation level dropped, this reflected in my work load and overall productivity. This was reflected across other placement students at my plant and was felt in the plant quite a lot

The company did not invest in me other than my salary. I have received no training courses, creditation or certification towards any work completed and refrained from putting me in any positions where investment into the person was required. This restricted my role in maintenance a lot as a lot of interesting work requires other trainings

There is an appealing graduate and international scheme from the company. These help further your education and in house learning which does appeal to me. I would hope that they invest more in you as an employee in these schemes so that the work you do is more interesting

The social scene was very quiet.

The cost of living is average, the area is heavy with industry however

The nightlife is spot on

I am from the area so yes