Higher Education Placement Review

by Field Studies Council

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

1.4/5
  • The Role
    1.2
  • The Company
    1.3
  • The Culture
    1.8

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • I understand this is a charity but £71 of allowance a week for work that can go up to 60+ hours is very tiring and unrewarding. It does feel like the FSC is using us for cheap labour at times. I have spoken to placements from other centres and they too have expressed the same concerns. Previous placements have even summarised this in a report but it was never acted on or even seen by upper management. This report was only disclosed to us well into our placement.

    1/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • I have been asked to take out the trash, sharpen pencils, sweep & mop the floors, cover shifts in the kitchen if they need someone, spending a significant amount of time putting away wellies, etc. From the start of the placement, we placements have been told that the tutors will help us out with these cleaning tasks which happen every Friday. I have been here for about 9 months and most of the staff just delegate it to us placements as a "Placement job".

    1/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions]

    1/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • We go through periods of maximum capacity to then being totally empty and the centre having to close due to lack of custom. its incredibly hard to keep up with.

    1/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • it was totally inappropriate to leave me, a 20 year old, in charge of the safety of just under 50 students and adults overnight. this happened on numerous occasions, and although we're given a phone number of a back up member of staff, they rarely answer should you call, or live a while away from the field centre.

    3/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • I look back on this year as a waste of what should have been a significant time of learning and development. Instead, I've learned how to successfully evade my managers and do the minimum amount of work in order to not to be noticed.

    1/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • When there wasn't conflict, the staff in general are cliquey and can be hurtful. This was usually true of the education team, and so I spent much of my time with the people who genuinely valued me, the house team or kitchen team.

    1/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • Our line manager worked hard to make sure there was some sort of structure

    3/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • we were sent away for a week on various training days but it we became quickly aware that the company needed to just "tick the boxes" in order to legally allow us to start work. I wouldn't;t let any of the people I trained with perform first-aid on anyone I cared about.

    2/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • Above 25 days holiday

    Healthcare/Dental
    1/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • The company is literally firing people as we speak. If you think a placement here is going to help you 'get your foot in the door' think again.

    1/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • those of us who got on worked hard to support one another

    3/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • we make virtually no money and live in the middle of nowhere so there is nothing to do other than walk or look at birds.

    1/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • snowdonia has 2 nightclubs

    1/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • occasional staff outings

    3/5
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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

Wales

May 2019

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