Ellipta Industrialisation and Stabilisation Assembly Engineer Review

My placement year exceeed all expectations I could have possibly had regarding working in industry. At the beginning I was terrified as I knew nothing about the company, the product or the manufacturing processes GSK used but my team were really helpful and supportive and really helped make my year a great one!

My team this year were definitely special in that I was automatically made to feel welcome and given genuine individual and team projects to work on as opposed to just small menial tasks that held no significance. The team gave me constant support and encouragement and were always there to help me through the road bumps when they arose.

My manager always asked me how I was both personally and professionally and was always available to offer guidance and advice when I wasn't sure what direction to go in next. He also made the effort to ask how my weekends were and ensured I was happy outside of work also in my free time. further to this, he gave me full support when leading a project on my own and would still always accompany me to meetings were I may have felt intimidated by the audience and always carried me through discussions if I got nervous and couldn't fully articulate myself.

My days fluctuated at GSK - I guess it depends on the projects and workflow going on at the time. Sometimes my days were jam-packed with meetings and deadlines or workshops with outsourced suppliers and other days my workload was lighter meaning I could clear up smaller loose ends that I maybe hadn't had time for in the previous weeks. My manager was also vey helpful in not letting me get too overwhelmed by the workload and ensured that all tasks given to me were passed through him first.

My team were very good in that responsibility was shared really evenly - I wouldn't put 10 because I don't like the phrase "running the show" but where I lead projects, I was given responsibility to discuss and deliver along the way In addition to supporting other projects in which another team member would have leading responsibility. The company really treated me like an adult and gave me good projects and responsibility, which I don't think my year would have been the same without.

I have learned more in this placement year than I ever could have thought possible. From time management to technical and communication skills, I have been developed in such a vast range of areas. I personally think as well learning to communicate and earn the trust and respect of experts in the field for 20years has been a massive learning curve and given me a new found respect for experience and knowledge.

My team all got on really well and had a good rapport with each other so it allowed space for fun and enjoyment whilst also giving us the opportunity to work closely and professionally. My main assembly colleague sat beside me all year also meaning we were able to build a strong working relationship and bounce ideas and thoughts of each other before approaching our manager for further guidance.

GSK were very organised for me and were very helpful in meeting the criteria set by the university also. They immediately made me feel like one of the team and not just a placement student that didn't know anything which I think helped the placement become organised. They didn't treat me any differently and we all did our day to day work in an organised and professional fashion, reporting to our superiors etc etc

My company were always open to developing my experience and current skill set. When I expressed an interest in learning more about six sigma, my manager put me in contact with the site training team who were able to put me in the right direction of the current training available on site. I also had frequent 1-1s with my manager so that he could check up on my personal development and so that both him and I could provide feedback on the experience so far and what worked for both of us as employee and employer.

This year With GSK has really cemented my love for the company and shown me that it is definitely somewhere I could see myself working in for the rest of my life. I love that I am able to use my engineering abilities to help people all over the world and having spent a lot of time with gradutates already on the graduate programmes offered by GSK, I am certain that I will be trying to get a place on one of the schemes upon completion of my university degree.

Where I was based in aware,Hertfordshire, the GMS and R&D sites are just across the road from each other. Thus, between these two sites we were able to build a strong network of 40 placement students to meet up and enjoy ourselves outside of the professional scene and I can honestly say some of the students I have met this year are now my best friends. A few of us have been on multiple holidays together throughout the year, spent weekends in London and had great nights out together so I don't think we could have asked for much more if I'm honest!

Having originally lived in student housing in Belfast, the cost of housing and general living was much higher being just 30 minutes from the centre of London. Rent for my flat was 2.5X as much as I would normally pay for a house in Belfast and going out for meals would usually be a couple of pounds extra per dish etc but the wage that GSK offered me this year was enough to cover all my expenditures without me having to worry about saving and staying in at weekends etc.

Hertford is only a 4 minute train journey from Ware (where I lived) which is where all the weekend nightlife usually is for the young people. In addition to this, the other students and I often headed into London to experience the nightlife and to celebrate occasions such as birthdays. However, during the week, Ware itself is never short of pubs and quizzes also it wasn't unusual for a weekly gathering in the pub to have a mid-week catch up outside the walls of work.

Yes! There were lots of swimming and netball and football teams all within the local area that a few people were able to get fe involved in. There were also lots of churches and youth group for young people to attend and as I mentioned before there were lots of weekly pub quizzes that people loved to get involved in. The local community itself always had lots of events running also where volunteer opportunities presented themselves and also just the chance to turn up and enjoy the day with your friends.