HSES Project Assistant Review

Very enjoyable placement overall. Stimulating, varied and manageable workload. Challenging work which made me which like a valued member of the team and company. Good employee benefits, friendly employees, excellent on-site facilities. Only negative is that the role is often leaves you feeling quite isolated as it is within a small team with many who work from home.

Played an important role within the team, working on projects that had significant importance. Team and employees within the company all made me feel very valued and welcome from the first minute. Very inclusive workplace environment.

Regular contact with manager and team through calls and face-to-face meetings. Manager works from home, as do many other members of team, which leads to often empty office but did not effect amount of guidance/support I was given.

Workload is management and very well balanced. Wide variety of enjoyable and stimulating topics and roles. Busy and often pushed to meet deadlines but all were certainly manageable.

Played an important role within the team, working on projects that had significant importance. Varied workload including on projects that I could see had an impact throughout the company.

Skills developed will help beyond university as I feel I have gained experience that will significantly benefit my employability. I was exposed to a wide variety of topics at the forefront of the environmental and energy sectors which will certainly set me in good stead for the future. I will base my dissertation on some of the work I have carried out in my time at Centrica, but I don't think the skills I developed will have a huge impact on my degree studies.

Quiet office but all employees were approachable and very friendly, welcoming and helpful. My area was secluded with a small team so it wasn't busy or loud, but that allowed focus. Would've potentially enjoyed it more if there were more people to converse with, allowing more fun to be had, but it certainly wasn't an awful office environment to work in.

Very organised and well structured. Workload was preprepared with scope to pick up more projects. Defined objectives at the beginning of the year which were continually tracked against and used as a barometer for performance. Potential improvements to the programme are discussed to allow it to be more enjoyable which is another positive.

Went on plenty of trips across the business to expose me to the variety within the company. Obviously this was at a cost to the company which shows their commitment to development and exposure to a variety of different business activites. Received fire and first aid training, attended informative conferences and took part in a variety of tasks that provided personal development. 10/10.

Exposed to a large variety of graduate positions and different roles within the company to show different potential avenues for employment. Company would like to retain young talent which is certainly a positive thing. Seemed to encourage me to explore positions within the company, even if not in the same department as I am currently in.

I took part in a few graduate activites including a knowledge sharing event and a followership activity day, however I often felt isolated as there were no other placement students in my department or office. Often felt segregated from graduates who formed cliques within departments leading to feeling of isolation.

I lived at a family home so it was pretty cheap for me considering I didn't have to pay rent or living costs. But in general the area is very expensive, placement is based in Windsor which is one of the most expensive areas in one of the most expensive regions in the country.

As a local I know the places to go - there are a few clubs but not many and not really any of great quality. There are some really nice bars and restaurants in nearby places like Beaconsfield/Windsor/Eton and it's easy to get into London. But local nightlife isnt that great.

I joined a 5 a side football team and there were other clubs within the company that I could join. There were also departmental activites and activites through the gym and through Yammer pages, but I think they could have been advertised more and could be of greater variety sometimes.