Student Engineer Review

I definitely enjoyed my time with Laing O'Rourke this Summer, it was a fantastic and vital learning experience and I am extremely glad that I had the opportunity to work with them. The support network they have is fantastic, from colleagues on site to the team at head office who bend over backwards to ensure the students have everything they need to succeed on their placement. I can say I was well looked after throughout my time here.

I felt like I was part of the team from day one, on my very first day I was greeted by someone who I later learned was one of the project directors and was instantly chatting about how I was, how my journey went etc which was a small thing but made me feel very welcome and settled me in well. From then on I had good relationships with the colleagues I interacted with and they were open and appreciated my input.

My supervisor was extremely helpful and supportive. As a lot of the tasks I was given were totally new to me, his knowledge and desire to pass on that knowledge so that I could best complete my work was what made this placement a fantastic learning experience. No question was out of bounds and he was always approachable, taking time to ensure I fully understood the concepts behind the tasks I was carrying out. Always gave insight even outwith my scope of work.

As the project was nearing completion I was busy on a constant basis. This did not mean that I felt I was swept of my feet. If I completed my work in the scheduled time (which was illustrated well by my supervisor, giving me targets to aim for) then there was no feeling of being rushed or hurried.

I was given a decent amount of responsibility, being trusted to work on my own initiative and also allowed to carry out work for other colleagues outwith my supervisor. When my supervisor went on holiday he passed on some of his tasks to me to be completed while he was away. This gave me my biggest taste of running a section.

Aside from the knowledge and experience gained that will directly correlate with my university studies, the most useful skills the placement developed were communication, organization and self sufficiency. Day-to-day interactions and meetings, working to and creating my own schedules and even having to organize my own accommodation to live away from home (a first) helped with this and will be useful now and in my future career.

The office was serious in that the project was nearing it's handover date so there was a certain amount of pressure to complete the job in hand. This did not mean that the staff there were not friendly enough to answer questions and I never felt like an imposition to any of them.

The placement was organised well, there was never a feeling that I did not know what was going on and the student/placement support staff were always on hand for any guidance. Laing O'Rourke have a Structured Learning programme in place so there was always a target to my learning and I knew exactly what I was getting out of the placement.

The main focus of the placement was to follow the Structured Learning Plan for Technical Competencies which, once fulfilled, is a large part of becoming a site engineer with the company. Laing O'Rourke endeavors to ensure that the placement given to students is the best one for their learning and development in the industry. They also run outside training courses outwith the activities on site to further bolster the learning experience.

With Laing O'Rourke there is a clear progression route and the idea is that if you follow and complete their learning programme to the given standard (generally over multiple placements) then there will be a job waiting for you at the end of your summer placement. This is openly discussed and the company support you in every way they can to give you the best possible chance of achieving this.

At the site there were many colleagues who were willing to have social nights out in the town I was staying in. In addition, the student support staff at head office set up a two days out, all expenses paid trips to London for all students on the summer placement programme. (At the start and end of the placement) This included events at the London Museum and a night out in London (all drinks paid for). This was a great opportunity to socialise with students throughout the country that would not have been possible otherwise. They paid for my trip down from Scotland as well as my accommodation in the city which was incredible.

The site I was working on was in Dumfries so the price of living was reasonable, I was able to find accommodation that was affordable quite easily. Laing O'Rourke also give you an allowance for travel and accommodation as part of your standard wage.

A relatively small town so not the most variety but with good colleagues this was not really an issue.

Outwith site hours I was still able to do my regular activities like go to the local gym there as well as have meals out and if wanted to pursue any other activities such as sports there was always time to do so.