Testing Review

The placement has been a very enjoyable experience, developing all aspects of you from your technical knowledge all the way to your soft skills working with people day to day. One of the features of the placement I enjoyed the most was the opportunities provided by Cummins to do on the job training and development courses.

I felt like a highly valued team member since I was given real responsibilities in real projects that contributed to the development of the engines at Cummins. The level of responsibility placed on placement students was impressive and is a great experience. I would recommend to anyone with little work experience in an engineering company.

My placement provided support in various ways. Firstly I was appointed a manager who I had meetings with every fortnight. This allowed me to raise any concerns or ask any outstanding questions and gain more support. The experienced staff members I worked with on a daily basis were also extremely supportive and invested in my learning.

Due to the type of the role I was given some days I was very busy and some days not so busy so it was sometimes hard to time manage on these occasions. However my manager always offered support and encouraged me to ask for help if I felt I had too much work.

I was given a high level of responsibility on my placement this was due to the fact I took to my role fairly well so they felt I could handle it. I was also given high responsibility due to a low amount of staff members at certain parts of the year so I needed to step up.

The skills I learnt allowed me to make the link between the theory taught at university and the practical aspect of engineering. Furthermore, I actively tried to engage in the practical hands on opportunities to develop my skills in these areas as it is not something that is taught particularly well at university.

The general atmosphere in the office was good but in this role you weren’t based in the office all day as you needed to go on site to complete practical jobs. Everybody in the office was always very friendly and offered lots of help especially when I started new at Cummins.

The placement scheme is incredibly well structured and has been refined even further over the years. There is great structure in place which has development opportunities bedded into it to allow you to develop. There are also schemes in place to allow you to have experience days in different areas of the company if you are interested.

The company is highly invested in this as you are regularly invited to personal development days. As a student group you are also responsible for organising events outside of normal working tasks which is another excellent opportunity for personal training/development. The company also invests in training companies to come in and complete real life training demos with you.

Most people who complete a placement with the company return as they built great relationships and did a good job for the company. If you enjoyed your year and your manager was happy with the work you completed they will definitely be likely to offer you some sort of role at the company when you graduate.

Yeah since there are so many students on placement across the company there is a great relationship between the group.

Very cheap! A night out in Darlington is incredibly cheap compared to the rest of the UK.

Darlington has a vibrant nightlife but could get boring if you were out there every weekend.

Yes there are always emails advertising activities outside of work.