Health & Safety Undergraduate Review

I really enjoyed my placement at Vauxhall in the Health & Safety department. With having little experience in the Health & Safety industry, it was a big jump for me to take. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the environment and job role. I do feel as if it pushed me massively out of my comfort zone - but I suppose that's what placement years are for if your not sure what avenue you would like to go down.

Within the Health & Safety department - I felt very valued by my team. They where the best team ever and made me feel welcome straight away! If I was ever unsure about anything, my team where always on hand to help me! They made me feel included from the start in all team meetings and events that was going on within the Health & Safety team. I would have scored 10/10 - however I don't feel as if my opinion was as valued in other departments.

My manager & supervisor was very support - as was the whole team. They always made sure I felt very comfortable but at the same time pushed me to do things I necessarily wouldn't have done on my own - which was great! I had a monthly one-to-one with my manager to discuss any issues I had and have an update on any tasks I had been given. Both my manager & supervisor had an open door policy!

Within the Health & Safety industry, no two days are ever the same. If there ever was an accident / breach of Health & Safety on site - that is what kept me busy. Filling in paper work & investigating. However, if their was nothing to work on - it would just be updating any systems we already had on place and thinking of ways to better them. In my one-to-one each month my manager would ask about my work balance.

My job role was the Health & Safety Advisor for the Press Unit. I was happy with this level of responsibility as the Press Unit had hardly any accidents and were up to date with standards. I don't believe I should have been giving any more responsibility, as I didn't have too much experience in this industry. However, the team did keep me 'in the loop' with everything.

Presentations where something you would have to get used to. I did several in front of either colleagues or higher management. This was fantastic, as I was able to feel confident going back to my university studies about presenting. When updating systems, it was something I was already use to, so this just meant building on the skills I already had really.

The first half of the year was a communal office - with all different departments on two floors. I think I preferred this way, as it was easier to communicate with other employees without having to wait for an email all the time. However, it could get distracting sometimes. Second half of the year we was placed into our own office - again this had positives, as we were able to work closely as a team. I work really well with background music, so was able to do this once we had moved. But yes, general atmosphere was great.

At the start, it was great! However, once the change over had happened - it was more difficult to organise things as budgets had been set in place. Things like CSR got cancelled & it was more difficult to do things together as a team (undergraduates) like the previous undergraduates did. I believe within my own team though, it was very organised. They ensured they could do whatever possible for me to get the most out of the experience.

Within my own personal team, yes! As previously mentioned, they ensured they could do whatever possible to ensure I got the most out of the year. However, as a whole, because of budget cuts, the company I would say didn't invest much into the undergraduates - maybe some but not all.

There isn't a graduate scheme within the company. Again with budget cuts, they wasn't looking to keep anyone on part-time whilst at university - which is a shame.

Yes, I would say so. I personally never got involved with any of this. But there was defiantly opportunities with the fellow students to have a social gathering every now and again. Each year, individual teams had a seasonal night out / outs -which i participated in and was fun

I lived at home whilst at on my placement. This was within the Liverpool Area - so there was a budget for everyone within restaurants and bars. Cost of living I could not comment on just because I lived at home whilst at University and on my placement. My fellow students did house share, which Vauxhall helped them sort out.

As described above, the most local town would be Liverpool - which is a great night out for everyone and anyone as there is a lot of choice. However, there is Chester - but i could not comment on Chester as I personally have never experienced a night out there.

At the beginning - yes. I was involved in a charity day for Alder Hey which was good and rewarding. But once budget's where put in place - this was more difficult to do and organise. There was "STEM" opportunities available - in which students could get involved in if this was authorised by their manager.