Supply Chain Placement Review

I think the placement on the whole was good. There were some parts involving sending life-saving medicines to customers, understanding a complex supply chain and working with dedicated colleagues which made the job worthwhile. But the placement lacked structure overall. Lack of 1 to 1, lack of training, a varied workload and just the overall lack of awareness of placement students on site brings the overall rating down.

I think the lack of awareness for placement students on site made my development opportunities very limited. I felt very valued by most of the colleagues I worked with and most of them were very happy to help, however there were a few who didn't view placement students as that important. The role of Placement student lead kept changing throughout the year kept changing which didn't help this. There seems to be more of an emphasis on Apprentices and graduates which I understandable.

I have worked for two managers over the 14 months I have worked here at GSK. I have to say the quality of the managers has been superb. They are both very much committed to attracting students to pursue careers at GSK and were very helpful with any problems/queries I had. As I have mentioned my role was very limited, but anything else I could do, my managers would try and get me involved in them. I think if I had been involved in a lot of side projects as well as my normal job, I would be giving them a 10/10. But overall it was fantastic to work for them because I felt valued, which created confidence.

My role either had really busy days or really quiet days. On my really busy days I would be managing data changes, completing data provision tasks, managing suppliers and third parties, coordinating shipments, reporting and coordinating critical supply requests which would make the day really varied and enjoyable. However there were too many days where I would have very little to do. I think this was down to the role though in fairness. My workload was dependent on what would come in, what I was delegated and what I was allowed to do as a student. I also then moved roles in the last few months of my placement due to a site restructuring to work for a different manager. This diminished my workload. The role for the new student has changed slightly with more areas that the student will be involved in which is great. But for my year there was a lack of structure and opportunities.

I was given a lot of responsibility in my two roles. Both of them involved an element of involving data to supply customers. It wasn't something I initially thought was what I wanted to do. But at GSK data is so crucial. If there are parts missing this can cause supply to hold up and cause stock outs in the market, or goods can arrive in market without authorization etc. So the data I was providing and working with to enable supply was crucial and I was responsible that this was correct. The side projects I was given, I worked alongside my manager for which was great. It was nice to be given the freedom to pursue little side projects but the problem was there was very few throughout the year. It would have been nice to be given more responsibility but perhaps this would come with more time.

My degree is a just a business one but I have specialised it towards supply chain/operations management through the choice of certain modules. I have developed a lot of skills that will help me in the future, not just around the knowledge of supply chains, but also general skills such as team work, problem solving, project management etc. All of which will be important for writing my dissertation, completing my degree and any future role I have.

I have worked in two brilliant teams. It was probably the best thing about the placement. It was more difficult working with other teams that perhaps didn't understand my work and processes or didn't trust me as a student, which is understandable. On the other hand, the teams I worked in were brilliant. They had the right mix of experience and youth which combined to make very effective teams. There was also ex placement students/graduates who helped me which was a bonus. There was the right balance between work and play.

This is where the placement falls down for me. The graduates are given a mentor who was an ex student to help them and they have regular one-to-ones. The apprentices were given challenges to improve GSK and the site, and they were given more responsibility and in their first year, experience 3-4 different roles in their department. For placement students, from speaking to my fellow students from my year, organisation of the placement varied on the manager/department. Some managers knew exactly what their students would be doing for the year and some didn't. Some were given meaningful work and lots of projects, some did very little over the year. Some had one-to-one sessions with their managers, some didn't. Some had mentors, others didn't. There was a lot of variety between us all. The placement for me, on the whole lacked a lot of organisation. The good news is this years in-take has been managed extremely well this year. There was a group induction, students received an induction pack, each student has been given a handover with the previous student. It seems to be a more organised, improved placement for 2018/19. But my placement was hopefully the last of unorganised placements.

I wasn't given a lot of one-to-one training initially. It was all managed by online courses and procedures which I don't think works for GSK. I believe they are more of a reference point. GSK goes along with training being 10% one to one training and 70% on the job or some figures like those. I think on the job training is good, but there has to be more one-to-one training. Some can learn simply from reading but I find it easier to practice what I have learnt. Luckily around half way into my placement there was a revamp into training because myself and colleagues had to learn how to use an updated piece of software. This involved group training sessions and quizzes which was very enjoyable. So training has improved as the year has gone on, but there is still a lack of one-to-one training.

There is no doubt that there are an infinite amount of employment prospects at GSK. From my experience this year I have learnt about so many different roles that I never thought were involved or had their own team due to their importance. I have spoke to very senior colleagues who started on a very defined career path and ended up going a completely different direction at GSK because of the great opportunities available. Also there is a very clear progression for graduates now with either a direct entry programme or a future leader programme. GSK also has a tendency to keep hold of talent because of the time and effort they have invested in people. Also when I think about my career prospects, I don't think I have swayed from supply chain but I am now thinking about different roles because of the complexity and different roles involved in GSK. There seems to be endless possibilities. For example originally I thought I would do a planning role in the future, but I have now become interested in quality roles, data provision/maintenance roles, procurement roles and new product introduction. And that's just from one year in industry.

I lived not too far from where my placement was at which was ideal. I would make the events and nights out that I had time for and they were very good. As placement students we would arrange a different themed activity every month and also meet up more often depending on who was available. The town where the site is situated is quite small and quiet, but the social scene in the surrounding towns/cities is brilliant and not too far away.

I was quite fortunate as I lived at home, but from speaking to my fellow students, rent in the area seemed to be around £300-350 a month which either included or didn't include utilities. Socialising would depend on the activity. It might be that you have a couple of drinks after work which would be £5-10, or you might go further away from the town on a night out where I would spend £40-80 depending on taxi's/hotels etc. Or you might go bowling, to the cinema, out for a meal etc. It depends on what you fancy doing really. However it is mostly cheap as chips for most activities.

As I mentioned, in the area I worked the nightlife wasn't brilliant, but not great either. There are a few pubs/restaurants and 1 or two 'nightclubs'. But the nightlife in the surrounding towns/cities is brilliant and there is a wide array of pubs and clubs. Overall there is a lot of variety in the surrounding areas.

GSK is known for it's orange days which involves taking a day out of work to do work for charity so there is always lots going. There is site celebration days, trips to other sites, tours of other areas etc. I found the visits to other sites fascinating. It seems like each site is know for producing a certain product/service which gives each site it's own identity.