Undergraduate Engineer Review

The placement at Jaguar Land Rover was mixed. The facility that I was assigned to and the work that I was asked to do didn't really help my professional and technical skills so that didn't help my enjoyment. On the other hand, the experience was useful to personal development as it taught me lots about the culture present in large companies.

I felt immensely valued by my colleagues. Due the position that the team and facility were in when I arrived, there was a real need for any extra hands to do everything. As my time with the team went on, they understood that I had no knowledge of the area I was working in so they were more than happy to explain what was happening to bring me in the loop.

The support, guidance and help that was given by my supervisor was amazing, She always assisted where needed, giving ideas about where I could go next and support when things were getting tough. Management were less useful as it didn't really give useful advice or guidance on a regular basis. This situation was understandable as the facility had gone through 3 management changed during my time and suffered from more important issues than the undergraduates that were in the team.

I went through phases of being busy and having nothing to do. The busy phases coincided with safety inspections from health and safety inspectors in the department to ensure that the facility was improving on some of its issues. The jobs that needed doing were safety sheets and risk assessments. The periods of having nothing to do was due to the fact that I was not qualified to do anything that was related to what the department were doing.

I was given very little responsibility during my placement at Jaguar Land Rover. This was because of a massive oversight by the team of people that assigned me to the facility. They didn't think about my skills and qualifications and what the facility needed so when I arrived I was not allowed to touch anything or work on anything due to the lack or knowledge and qualifications.

I did not learn anything or do anything that assisted in my degree. This was because the facility that I was placed in was in no way aligned to what I studied at university. What I was assigned to do didn't really stretch or challenge me so I took the opportunity to take any courses that I could to expand my knowledge, an area that Jaguar Land Rover is good in.

The office that I worked in doubled as a control room for the facility. This meant that the only people that were in the office were from the same team as me so that helped the office ambience. The facility didn't have a meeting room so the meetings with customers had to take place in the office, leading to a strange environment at times.

The placement was organised badly with very little communication from anyone in the organising positions. There was no real structure to what I was doing and no real plan was in place for when I started. I understand that this was a result of the position that the facility was in when I started, but this could have been avoided if due diligence had been taken in assigning my placement location.

Jaguar Land Rover did not really have a good system in terms of personal training and development. While there were training courses available for all members of the company to complete for personal development the drive to complete them was entirely personal. If I hadn't have signed myself up for the courses I went on, there wouldn't have been a push to get me on any.

At the end of the placement there is a formal review with management and supervisors. The results of this review will be used to determine whether a job offer would be made. I was told that I would be offered a position if one was available for when I graduate, but that wouldn't be offered until January of the next year.

There was a good social scene amongst the other placement students within my department as Jaguar Land Rover organised accommodation for summer internship students. Unfortunately, as I had weird placement dates and other commitments I didn't really join in with this as I was away from the main body of placement employees.

As mentioned previously, I was not able to join in with the socialising. But the living costs in Coventry were acceptable.

Didn't really go out at night. The pubs that I did visit in Leamington Spa and Coventry were nice and reasonably priced.

Not really, but I think that was because of the limited time that I was in the company.