Service Transition Project Coordinator Review

I have really enjoyed my time at Computacenter I have had some great opportunities and been a part of an amazing team. The culture at Computacenter is so welcoming and friendly it really puts you at ease, everyone is always happy to help is you ask. IT is such a big industry and there are so many roles within it so it has been great learning more about those roles and where I see myself.

I felt very valued in my team, they didn’t see me as just a placement student but a colleague, a valued member of the team. Although I was not a senior member of the team my role was still important and contributed to the whole team and business in some aspects and everyone understood and respected that and gave me the support I needed.

My entire team are very supportive and I was also assigned a Buddy who helped with my local induction and throughout the year. So with work I had lots of support from my manager and team, In terms of personal development I think my manager could have been more helpful. Over my placement I developed a lot of skills but I also discovered what I’m not so good at so it would been good to have worked on that a little more

Each day is different, sometimes you’re really busy and debate working through lunch and other days it’s not so busy and you have more time on your hands. Your workload changes all the time but I did find the quieter days more common, especially in the first few months of placement.

I was given a lot of responsibility but a lot of training too so that I felt ready to do the work and actually understood what I was doing. The first few months were training and gradually integrating me into the role and the different task and projects, and then I was able to a lot of tasks without assistance. So it was a slow start but eventually I was given more responsibility

The skills I have learnt will be hugely beneficial for when I return to university and for my future career. You have the opportunity to develop your communication, problem solving and team work skills in a professional environment rather than at in University setting. I also had the opportunity to complete ITIL and Prince2 Foundation which offered great insight into the end to end process of service lines and project management.

The atmosphere in the office is very relaxed, everyone works very hard but they are also very friendly, approachable and enjoy a good laugh. Everyone is always happy to help with any problems you have or guide you in the right direction if they’re unsure. It is a great atmosphere to work in!

The first week is an induction for all the Industrial placement students to come to be welcomed into, this includes a series of team building activities and talks form senior members of the company. It was very well organized and structured and improvements have been made for the next intake to make it even better. The local inductions into you teams vary, but mine again was very well organized and informative.

I had the opportunity to complete ITIL and Prince2 Foundation which offered great insight into the end to end process of service lines and project management. This to me seemed like a big investment and was great for developing my skills. There are many courses offered internally to help improve soft skills too

There are a range of graduate and associate programs available in various departments. There are a few people who entered the company on an industrial placement scheme and have returned having completed university on a graduate scheme or been offered a job. It’s such a big company and there are many roles.

Hatfield is a fairly quiet area especially I you’re from a city! So considering the quiet area we have had a few social evenings, even if it’s just going for lunch or round of golf. My team enjoy a good social after team meetings which is always a lot of fun.

It can be fairly expensive in Hatfield in terms of rent, nights out you can end up spending £40 plus (even more if you venture into London) but going to pubs, bowling or for a meal is not too expensive so it just depends what you would like to do.

Hatfield does not have a great nightlife, you have to travel outside of Hatfield or go into London which will then be more expensive. There are lots of pubs for those who enjoy a good pub crawl! Bit in terms of clubs you would be best going into London which can be very expensive

There were not really any activities to get involved with outside of work, occasionally departments will do some kind of social but it’s not a regular occurrence. If you wanted to try and organize something I am sure you could. There are some activities nearby to get involved with and the university is very close they may host events.