Undergraduate Engineer Review

The summer placement was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, providing me with a broadened understanding of the workings of a principal contractor within the construction industry. I was exposed to a wide variety of the activities that are undertaken in basement construction, from CFA piling to prop installations and eventually the pouring of the basement raft. It was especially enjoyable to be able to gain first hand experience of all of these works on site, as opposed to learning the theory behind the works at university.

My colleagues made me feel like a part of the team from day one, giving me responsibilities to take care of and helping them out with their work. They never questioned the work I did and allowed me to gain a wider understanding of all the work carried out by each of them. I was able to learn from all of my colleagues and help out with their work when needed.

I was immediately paired up with a graduate engineer on site under the 'buddy' system who supervised the work i did and taught me how to use all the equipment we needed to use on site, like the total station. The graduate helped me throughout the learning process until i felt competent enough to use the equipment myself and take surveys, helping answer any questions i had throughout this process. The rest of the team were also incredibly helpful and would help answer any questions i had during my placement.

How busy i felt throughout the placement varied depending upon the ongoing works on site. On some days you would be incredibly busy as time would fly due to the variety of jobs needed to be done on that day. Other days were less busy which meant you could work on other things in the office for example.

I was given an incredible amount of responsibility throughout the placement, but at the same time never felt pressured into doing more and more work. I felt i was given an ideal amount of responsibility in terms of taking surveys myself and reviewing them in the office, but I was also able to ask the graduates if i had any questions about anything i was unsure about.

The placement allowed me to understand the contracting side of civil engineering, which is not necessarily taught at universities as they often focus on the consultancy side. This has allowed me to broaden my understanding of the workings of civil engineering companies, and understand the process from design to the role of principal contractors in making sure that work is carried out as designed and to a high level of safety.

The atmosphere of the office was very good, as all members of the team were friendly and were more than open to answering any of the questions i had about the project. We were all able to have a laugh whilst also getting work done when we needed to get it done.

In general the organisation of the placement was good. I was given good communication from HR prior to my placement relating to the status of my application and contract details. I perhaps could have benefited from more communication from the site team prior to my joining just so i knew what i would be doing/working on.

The company offered many training opportunities during my time there, and I was lucky enough to take part in one of the training days offered in tower crane rescue, which involved the rescue of a crane driver in an emergency using abseiling techniques. I believe there were further and a wide variety of training opportunities on the grad scheme too.

The graduate scheme at John Sisk looks very appealing as it offers a wide variety of training opportunities, whilst also allowing you to wor within the different business units in the company. This would allow you to broaden your understanding of the working of the company, whilst also working towards your chartership.

The social scene in general was okay, with employees often going for a drink after work on fridays. They always invited me along and the placement students would often take part. There were also non drinking activities like 5 a side football that was organised after work too. This mainly came from the employees as opposed to the company itself.

I was lucky enough to be able to stay at home during my placement due to the location of where I was working. However the cost of living in London is well publicised in being quite expensive. The social scene in London was very good, with plenty of bars restaurants shops etc to spend spare time.

Nightlife in London is generally pretty good, depending on the place you go to. However, the price can often put people off which meant i often stayed at home to go out. However, this will depend on the location of your placement as Sisk work all across the country in a wide variety of locations.

In general there were opportunities to socialise outside of work, with colleagues going out on a friday for a drink. We also had social events organised for the team during my placement which we could get involved in, which included going to a bar in London and meeting up with the rest of the team.