Industrial Trainee Review

Arup is a really good engineering firm with an excellent global presence which makes learning from and working with colleagues very exciting. Other opportunities for learning are good too with daily CPDs and courses. There are no actual training programs in place for placement students so there is no investment from arup in their students in that sense. I didn't find there to be an encouraged culture of personal development and shared learning in personal skills. You get to work on very exciting projects around the world which is great!

There is no appraisal or feedback format in place for placement students however if you initiate them yourself, it's well received. I felt like I was part of the team - I felt valued by those I worked with.

My managers were very approachable and very flexible. I always felt like I could talk to them and they would help resolve any issues or any reservations I had.

You can be as busy as you like. I chose to be on multiple projects which meant some weeks were around 50-55hours. Vacation students and placement students usually do their 37.5hrs.

Arup has a culture of expecting their junior engineers to prove they are capable - until then I find a lot of the work given is administrative. It can be very frustrating. Having really pushed for more work, I was trusted with a few deliveries which I was very grateful for. My manager also gave me a small independent project to work on - which was rare - and I found that it was the best learning I did that year.

In terms of Engineering, I didn't get to put into practice anything I did in my degree and I don't believe I learnt much that would help with my degree next year. However I did receive and appreciate the exposure to a working engineering environment. It helped me develop an understanding of professional conduct and how to develop personal skills like being assertive, juggling projects etc. I also got to work on very exciting international projects and develop relationships in other offices which is great.

It's a friendly office. It's very different to consulting - there is a culture of working and going home. You have occasional work drinks. I believe the lack of social environment makes it feel very much like work and when you don't develop those friendships around you at work, it reduces how much you learn from your colleagues around you. Everyone is nice, welcoming and friendly. The working hours and conditions are flexible. You can take your laptop home and work from there if you need to.

I didn't find there to be any support or structure for placement year students. There was no training in place. You are sort of like an extended vacation student. There are no as much set aims and goals for placement students. My manager was excellent and I could discuss my personal objectives with him and he always made sure I was part of projects that were helping my development. There are no perks for placement students - health insurance or access to counselling.

I found arup management to be very flexible and friendly. However arup doesn't have a placement year program - there are no training programs in place. This is very limiting as graduates are heavily invested into but as a placement year student they are very vary of investing in you at all as you will be leaving at the end of the year - it's not very nice and definitely different to how other companies approach their investment programs for students. Arup needs a training program for their students which they accept as an investment (which may end up as loss in the short term but will always end up in profit in the long run) to receive the best talent from around the country. Arup also needs placement supervisors in every department who discuss personal objectives, set goals and encourage constant feedback with each student. Arup also has a slightly outdated management approach where they don't expect or ask for feedback for themselves to see where they could improve.

The pay was not great at the placement year so I would be quite skeptical of arup competes with other engineering firms at that. I believe arup is an excellent firm and it suits certain engineers very well. There are opportunities to work abroad on exciting projects and develop engineering skills at offices around the world. Arup offers a starting bonus for their engineers.

There is a reasonably good social environment. You go out for occasional work drinks and there is a Christmas dinner. It's not as social as a consulting environment.

It's a reasonably expensive area. The central rents are similar to central London yet our pays are nowhere comparable! The city is great, you have lots of places to socialise and spend your Sunday afternoons. It's neither cheap, nor too expensive.

The area is very lively and there is lots to do outside work. There are lots of nice restaurants and bars to go to and there are two local universities so you are around other students!

You can get involved with engineering societies outside work. Arup offers to pay a percentage of your membership fee. You can also join clubs at work e.g charities to help raise funds for local charities. There are sports clubs at work with international tournaments between offices for golf and football etc.