Site Engineer Review

I enjoyed my placement this summer a lot because I was given ownership over my own area of tasks, as well as learning new skills which I hadn't used during previous placements. I felt part of the team and I was able to get plenty of site experience which is crucial for working in the construction industry.

I felt extremely valued by colleagues, especially as I had worked with many of them on my previous placement. They provide helpful feedback during my time there and constantly encouraged and supported me throughout. They treated me as part of the team from the outset and were always professional with me.

I was given a fair amount of support and guidance and always felt like I could ask a question at any time. I was given ownership of tasks, but not left in the dark with them, as everything was always briefed to me before I began work. They even gave me future advice for working in the construction industry which was very helpful.

I started my placement with only a few tasks, so I wasn't overly busy. However, after a few weeks had gone by, I had a lot more tasks to be involved with and more responsibility too, so I was quite busy throughout the week. I also worked in a fast paced but exciting working environment which meant there was always something to do.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility during my placement, evening having ownership over ordering steel reinforcement at times, which is thousands of pounds worth of orders. This was helpful though as it helped me gain more pride in my work and double check to ensure everything was done correctly.

I received a lot of health and safety training on placement which will really help me at University, especially when having to create risk assessments as part of a coursework. The skills I learnt in reading steel drawings has also really helped as I am looking at RC concrete for my dissertation. I find practical learning helps me best.

The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed.

It was very well organised and I knew who to contact on my first day ahead of starting. I was sat down by my line manager and explained what I would be getting involved with during my placement and learning outcomes it would be good for me to achieve. I also had a review with them at the end of my placement which was helpful.

I was allowed to attend various workshops and training during my placement, which helped my development and learning greatly. I was given many opportunists to attend other workshops too or community out-reach events. The company really looked to invest in me, and I felt they offered me all the opportunities that would of their full time employees.

Laing O'Rourke are a very appealing future employment oppurtunity as they offer a very good graduate development programme which has a good starting salary, company car, travel subsistence, and good training courses amongst other things. They also help you to reach chartership which is very important in the construction industry.

Very good social scene, lots of people would go out together regularly.

I worked in London so it was fairly expensive for cost of living. I lived just outside of London though and commuted in each morning. The company gave me money to cover the cost of my travel and some extra to go towards food which really helped and meant that I wasn't at a disadvantage from working in London at all.

I don't really go out clubbing so not sure...

There were lots of different activities that went on from quiz nights, to community out-reach projects so there was something for everyone that they could get involved in. There were also a few work parties were food and drink were provided, such as a BBQ and drinks evening to help you to get to know people from the other offices better.