Durability and Robustness Undergraduate Engineer Review

This placement was very engaging, I was busy but with interesting work not just time fillers and I was given lots of learning, development and further shadowing placement opportunities which allowed me to get a better overview of not only my department but other segments of the business I had interest in.

The team was so welcoming and inclusive from day 1. From things like just having coffee breaks, lunch to meeting up outside of work times. In a professional capacity they were welcoming as well as I got given time in team meetings to discuss what I had been doing/how I was finding it from the first week.

I was given a lot of support from my manager as well as being appointed a colleague to work with as well as a graduate buddy who I could go to with any questions. My manager was great as despite being busy he always made time for me if I had any questions/issues. He recommended training/learning that I could do to help support me through the 3 months and for the future.

I was busy day to day, with the prefect balance of stuff to do and restful days. After very busy periods would always be time to get everything in order. My manager was very good at monitoring our performance, both mental and work-wise, so every week we had to write down our percentages which encompassed how busy we were/working to capacity. This system worked really well as it allowed us to think and monitor it ourselves as well.

I was given a good amount of responsibility, allowed to take my own direction and work through my projects myself. I was put in charge of organising and talking inter departmentally as well which was good to do.

The general communication skills as well as learning a lot of new software will be really helpful for me back at Uni and for future jobs, not only with Jaguar Land Rover, but all companies as the software is common. The opportunities for development and learning that I got given allowed me to go on courses to gain even more transferable skills.

The atmosphere in the office is great, the team is majority young people so there is always someone to chat to formally or informally. It definitely feels a lot more like a group of friends than just work colleagues, the sort of people you actively want to spend time with outside of work! There is always something fun going on!

The placement was set up pretty well. You get given a definition and get meetings to check up on how you are doing. The graduate network at JLR is really good and they are always working to improve the experiences of the undergraduates, so the placements are set up well. The transitions are smooth and you know there is always someone you can talk to about any issues.

They invest a lot, there are so many training courses and elearning options available to all employees. In some companies these would be limited to just permanent staff, but the full range of courses are available to undergrads here. If there is any course you want to go on you just need to get your manager to sign it off (which they all do) whether it is directly related to your job or just more general development. There are also compulsory trainings you have to go to/watch. The ethos of most managers seems to be constant personal improvement.

They are very appealing. The graduate scheme at Jaguar Land Rover is probably the best engineering grad scheme there is, you get to do placements in at least 3 different departments, with one having to be non-engineering as well as a 2 week manufacturing placement. This is great as it allows you to be sure about the department you are in, as well as giving you a very good overview of the whole company and a better understanding. The conversion rate between placement and job offer is very good!

There is a great social scene with the other undergraduate placement students, as the majority of them live in the same university halls, and there are lots of sport/social opportunities to get involved with. The living allows you to get involved with and get to know a lot of people who you just wouldn't meet normally. In my department the social scene was really good, with a lot of team socials and things to do outside of work hours.

There is a lot of towns nearby, Leamington Spa and Coventry being the main ones. Both of these are Uni towns so they have a good range of things to do at affordable prices! They are also really busy nightlife and weekend places, with so much to do

Both Leamington Spa and Coventry are university towns, so there is a very good nightlife! Especially with so many other interns around there is always something to do. There are a lot of pubs/bars as well as clubs to go to. And as student towns the prices are pretty good too!

So many opportunities! There are loads of sports teams that are organised between employees, basically anything you can think of someone else will be interested in and there will be opportunities to go and join.