Site Launch and Change Controller Review

GSK offers so many opportunities not only to their employees but to their internship students as well. The people who work here are so friendly and happy to help when you need. You do real life work which makes a difference to the site you are based at as well as sites and customers across the globe.

I have not been given any work which is not valued. I have never once felt like I was lesser than a full time GSK employee, despite being a placement student. The relationships you build whilst working at GSK are easily done and highly valued during and after your placement.

I was initially worried about coming into a full time job, not having completed my degree yet, and not knowing what I was doing. GSK spend a lot of time training you and there is a handover period where the intern before you teaches you responsibilities you have and how to complete them. If you are ever unsure, it is so easy to ask anyone in your team or your line manager, or even someone else within GSK , thanks to the intranet system they use. Everyone is very connected and support and guidance is easily obtained.

Initially I didn't have much to do as I was training. About 2 weeks in I was given tasks to complete on my own and briefed on a project I would be working on. If ever you feel underworked, there is always something to do. The managers here are always happy to sign you onto a project or allocate you more tasks to complete. Likewise, if you ever feel overwhelmed with work, you just have to ask to send some things onto another person.

A lot of what you do on placement involves you solely contributing to the larger picture. I was given a lot of responsibility on my placement, dealing with markets across the world and completing tasks on the GSK system by myself. Although I was individually completing tasks, the team was always there to support me and assisted whenever I needed.

Further than the training I received for my specific role, there are many opportunities for other training. For example, there are first aid and fire courses you can do which will be valuable in life in general. Further, you can assign training to yourself such as with time management or how to delegate. There are so many opportunities at GSK, most of which will assist in life, degree and future employment.

The team I was assigned to were endless fun. When it was time to be serious and do work, it was done however, most of the time it was laugh after laugh. Not only did we spend time together during work hours, we had some after work activities such as going out for drinks or dinner. The atmosphere in the office very much enjoyable and relaxed.

The placement is well set up and is generally flexible enough for you to adapt to what you want to achieve by the end of it. For example, if there is a project coming up you really want to be involved in, you generally are able to get involved to some extent. It was a bit confusing that SRG are your employers and you have to organise holiday and pay through them rather than directly through GSK.

I was strongly encouraged to develop my skills, and training was encouraged whenever available. GSK definitely invests in their placement students and encourage them to apply for the future leadership programme. They want the best out of you and are willing to invest if they need to in order to get this.

The future employment prospects within GSK are very competitive. This is reflective of how many interns apply due to the enjoyment of their placement initially. The grad scheme is one of the best with the opportunity to do rotations on different sites across all GSK sites globally, not just within the UK.

There is an intern community across all UK GSK sites. Each site has an ambassador who organises events and activities to do as a site and negotiates with other sites about joining events. There are 2 events annually which all placement students are invited to. The placement students tend to do a lot of out of office activities, especially if you've moved to the area for your placement.

The cost of living and socialising in Worthing is no more than at Uni. Brighton is just a 20 minute, £4 train journey away where things are a little more expensive but loads of stuff going on. Since you are working full time, the costs are not as noticeable as when you are at Uni.

The nightlife in Worthing itself is more bars and pubs, although there are clubs, they're a little trashy, nothing worse than a student nightclub. Since Brighton is down the road, many a night is spent there and no need to worry about getting home as there is a £3 night bus back to Worthing bus stops, perfect to eat your after club food on.

There are many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. Whether it be social such as Brighton Pride or Worthing Pride where you can march in the parade and represent GSK. Or you can get involved in charitable activities or even just activities with your individual team or department or the other interns.