Operations Support Review

I really loved my time at Volkswagen Group. You are given a real job with real responsibility and have the opportunity to work with incredibly talented individuals, from whom you can learn a great amount from. As well as this the company offers a wide range of courses and developmental opportunities which I encourage you take, development is structured at the beginning and then it is up to you to book yourself on a wide range of courses, I thoroughly recommend these.

I was so lucky with my team, they were a bunch of incredibly talented, kind, and fun individuals. My team were so wonderful and allowed me to touch a variety of different departments in and out of the brand in which I worked in. My opinion was valued and ideas implemented which made my placement feel incredibly valuable and worthwhile. I know the company as a whole places importance on the opinions of undergraduates and I never met anyone who didn't have time to sit down and chat through anything with you. As with any company it is always worth networking as much as possible, and the open office allows for this.

My management were wonderful. You are encouraged by human resources to have monthly meetings with your supervisors however these were often weekly and I always felt that I have support, guidance and direction. As said above, you really can book time in with anyone so I felt well supported and my work was followed by all of my line management and I felt supported and respected by them. Support is always available in other ways as well. I consistently felt supported my my managers.

I worked in an incredible successful and busy brand within Volkswagen and I was fortunate enough to be busy and in the middle of it from the very beginning. I was pretty much always busy but I thrived on that and work life balance was heavily encouraged by my manager so I never felt that I was too busy. As with any job, you can manage how busy you are. For example, my day job was demanding but once I was more used to it I found myself having more time on my hands, I therefore got myself involved in projects across the brand. I was involved in exciting projects that shaped the way the brand I worked in grew and developed.

All jobs given to undergraduates are real roles, meaning that if we weren't there a full time member of staff would be. That meant that I was given real responsibility from the moment I joined and was entrusted with business critical tasks from day one. I was continuously given additional responsibility and accountability which was extremely rewarding.

Hugely!! Firstly the courses, such as excel, presentation skills and leadership, will allow you to gain skills that can be used throughout your studies and in your career. However the skills that I developed most during my year were learnt through working and through being given responsibility and accountability. My communication skills particularly, such as writing emails, presenting to an audience and adapting communication skills dependant on audience improved dramatically as did my confidence and office etiquette. Overall placement year at Volkswagen has put me in a fantastic position for my studies and my career.

The atmosphere was fun because of who I sat with. It was most certainly never dull but unfortunately due to well known issues in Volkswagen, there wasn't always a lot of fun things going on in the office or arranged socials. I'm sure this will gradually start to improve and I hope they do because it would be nice to see the people who work there to be rewarded for their incredibly hard work.

Incredibly so. We joined onto a month long induction plan, with courses, development plans and everything set up for us. Volkswagen arranged a day for all undergraduates to meet each other and their teams before we all joined, this really put all our worries at ease and you felt looked after from before you even joined. We were also provided with a leaving checklist before we left along with a checklist to ensure the undergraduates replacing us would have everything together.

Volkswagen provide a wide range of courses, some are booked for us (for example excel and powerpoint courses) and others you could pick and choose dependant on your level. Undergraduates could access a huge variety of courses, online or in person which were diverse and interesting. Volkswagen invests hugely in their undergraduates and graduates, I got to go on a wide range of courses that were pivotal to my development.

This one is a bit tricky, with BREXIT coming in to play I would worry about the future employment prospects within any global organisation. Graduates are no longer offered a permanent role at the end of the scheme and I would worry about this going back into the company. I would say there is of course a chance, however there is steep internal competition.

Yes, there were 40 undergraduates and 20 graduates so there was a good social scene. Meetings were facilitated prior to the beginning of placement so we could all get to know each other before we all joined and we all met at an induction day and meal. I would say that the calibre of my year was incredibly competitive but I think that is probably pretty common.

I lived in the middle of Milton Keynes which was pretty expensive but only because I chose to do that, I know that other undergraduates did it a lot cheaper and managed to find cheaper accommodation if they wanted. There are loads of bars with happy hours etc and shopping in the centre of town.

There are loads of bars and restaurants around. The nightlife seems to be busier during the week, I think Milton Keynes centre is somewhat of a 'commuter town' and therefore weekends can be quiet. There are some fun bars around the hub and the xscape area and there were quite a few events going on throughout my year there. I really enjoyed going out in Milton Keynes but if you want something a bit crazier then London is only 30 mins by train.

I can't really comment on this one because I went home most weekends to do stuff back there so I never really explored the opportunites to do other things outside of work. There are loads of gyms and there is a huge entertainment/indoor ski area and the shopping is amazing. There is also a few large lakes around the area and I think activities happen on them such as watersports and running clubs.