This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Really Enjoyable, I worked in a really good team, everyone in the company looks out for each other. I was given interesting, relevant work that is achievable. I was involved with a variety of projects each project different from the last.
Colleagues treat you really well, you're quickly grafted in and they are more than happy to answer questions you have, however repetitive you think you are being. The company is used to placement students and therefore there is a really supportive culture. Its a fantastic working enviroment.
Support given by managers was good, managers are encouraged to have weekly or fortnightly 1-1 meetings with their placement students, to ensure they are keeping up with their work or if there are any problems that you have hit with the project and help you work through them.
Usually quite busy, i usually had about 3 projects on the go with varying degrees of urgency. This would mean i always had things to do at the company. If for some reason my work load was low, I would ask colleagues if they had reports that needed writing, and do those for them.
I had ownership over my projects, i was responsible to closing those projects out and therefore the progression. I was given responsibilities within my office to coordinate fun and activities.
I felt I used my engineering degree thoroughly, i was doing practical testing and detailed analysis of the data. I learned a lot of practical skills in strain gauging, vibration testing and Front end accessory drive analysis. Hopefully these will give me better understanding when I go back to university.
The Company
Hard working, collaborative and friendly. If you had to speak to someone, it was normal to just approach them yourself and usually they are more than happy to help. They had fun days every quarter to build teams and office collaboration. Teams sometimes did their own outings such as go carting etc.
Quite well organised. because the company is used to placement students, its quite a well oiled machine with getting students settled. However HR can be a bit loose with some information, but its not a major issue.
They give you development opportunities such as experience days in different departments and student training programs. I had a 5 day course about personality, conflict, business, presenting and much more, this helped me understand working environments better and how to manage conflict better. I had a 2 day course about improving presentation skills and the company also offer various training courses throughout the year you can sign up to.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
The company often hire their placement students after they leave, its a great place to work for a fantastic working environment and care for employees. Personally, the locations they are based in are not so appealing but others may disagree.
The Culture
YES! I had 35 fellow placement students alongside me, all of them were really friendly and we got on well. Some of us have become really good friends since starting. Many of them will go out on a friday night into the town. Others will go and play or watch football midweek. It was a massive perk of the job.
Very Cheap. Cheap pints, entry prices, and travel. Rent tends to be cheaper as well however, I lived a few miles out of the main town as I was living with some mates at durham uni.
Pretty good from what I hear, I didnt personally go out much but placements students did. Newcastle is also a short train ride away if you fancy hitting the toon as many do.
couldnt say for sure, some people did football others climbing, it varies depending on department
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Automotive Engineering, Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
North East
April 2019