Engineering Placement Student Review

Personally, I absolutely loved it! Throughout the duration of my placement I got to meet some amazing people with much experience and knowledge regarding the company and the aviation industry. I was very well welcomed to the company, provided with support when needed and valued throughout the duration of the placement. As a placement student I was part of the Early Careers Scheme which meant I had the opportunity to work two six-month placements, allowing me to further explore and understand the company and expose myself to the various engineering operational and support teams. This only enhanced my experiences at NATS allowing me to personally get involved with various activities. This was something I found to be very beneficial and enjoyable at the same time.

During the two six-month placements I came across and worked with some very experienced and knowledgeable engineers who really valued and appreciated my contributions to the team. Colleagues that I worked with were also very friendly and helpful, they would always provide support and guidance when needed with useful and constructive feedback. Many individuals would also go out their way and spend much time with me to better my understanding of the task at hand and also just general work matters.

As mentioned above, most of the support and guidance I received was from fellow colleagues that I was working the task/activity with, however if I had asked for support and/or guidance from management I’m very much sure that this would have been appropriately arranged for. During placement reviews I was asked how things were going and if I thought I needed further support or guidance which meant that this would have been provided if deemed appropriate and necessary. The structure of the scheme and access to scheme managers does help you settle into the company well and increase your formal connections with other key staff members and scheme participants.

Through the NATS Graduate Scheme I got to complete two six-month placements and participate in Early Careers activities which enhanced my understanding of what NATS do and the structure of the company. This enabled me to partake in various tasks and activities which kept me relatively busy during the working hours. The work I took part in was itself very interesting, yet also challenging, which only advanced my theoretical knowledge, key skills and qualities. However, as with any other job, during the early stages of the placements you may not be assigned much work; this is purely because the team is getting to know you, your understanding of projects and key abilities to ensure that you are given work which you enjoy and can complete. Personally, I think I was very well utilised throughout the duration of my placements with just the right amount of work load.

With time and progression of the placement came more responsibilities. I started my placement completing simple tasks and demonstrating that I can complete these correctly and efficiently and so through this portrayal I was entrusted with tasks that held much importance to the live Air Traffic Operation. If you show, through work completed and your attitude, that you are capable of being assigned tasks with responsibilities then that is exactly what you’ll get. Just get stuck in with the activity you are working and offer to complete tasks and take responsibilities!

During both my placements, I’d like to think that through exposure to the various activities and working on different tasks I gained many new skills and also enhanced many of my existing skills; including presenting, communication and team working skills. The training provided at the start of my placement was very useful as it explained a lot about the company, what they do, how they do it and other important matters all of which helped to get me started with the job. The initial training is very aviation and air traffic related, however without it I think the first couple of weeks would be very tough and difficult. There are also other training opportunities available, however as a placement student you would need to justify why you think that you should attend such training and its benefits to you and the company.

This very much depends on the centre you are working in and team that you are placed within, as from personal experiences I found that each of the centres had a slightly different environment. Some of the key atmospheres include; open and honest communication with everyone as what you do at NATS is very important and safety is at the forefront of everything, cooperation and support from fellow colleagues and flexibility of working (working hours and being able to work from home).

The current ‘NATS Engineering Placement/Graduate Scheme’ is very well structured and allows a student to partake in various activities across the business. The scheme provides much support on an individual and group basis, including general advice, bi-weekly forums and key volunteering opportunities. You also have access to a Scheme Manager, Coordinator, Personal Buddy and other scheme members, all of whom who are there to support and guide you during your placement.

Despite being a placement student, I found that NATS really did invest time and money in my personal development. Allowing me to participate in training courses that were beneficial to me, partake in tasks which I personally wanted to take part in and took into consideration where and what I wanted to work on when given the opportunity. They’d also arrange for and send us (placement students) on site visits to better our understanding of the operation and its importance.

This is dependant on where you to choose to live. The main NATS sites aren’t located centrally in any city and so there isn’t really any nightlife in or around work. Most people choose to live in Southampton, Portsmouth or Whiteley, but this is entirely up to you and you would need to look into the nightlife of these areas to gather a better idea of what suits you best

Throughout my time at NATS, I found that there was just the right amount of opportunities to get involved in stuff outside of work. Some of the informal activities are arranged through the scheme, whereas others are arranged amongst fellow scheme members. You also have the opportunity to participate in formal activities such as charity fund raisers, air shows and STEM subjects promotion. You aren’t ever forced or obliged to partake in activities outside of work and these are completely optional.