Procurement (Vessels) Undergraduate Review

I very much enjoyed my time working for E.ON Climate & Renewables in the Offshore Wind Industry. I worked with global stakeholders on a daily basis and was given the responsibility of handling active tenders which resulted in tangible outcomes for the business. Every day I enjoyed going into work and developing myself and contributing to the company.

From the beginning I was given tasks/responsibilities which were designed to build my knowledge whilst also adding value to projects. All of my colleagues showed me respect from my first day, from my director to line manager and the wider team. As I built knowledge within certain areas and systems colleagues would request my time to explain items to them and always gave me recognition for this, making me feel valued.

All the colleagues in my team instantly made me feel welcome into my new role and immediately offered advice and training to bring me up to speed. If I needed support my immediate & extended team was on hand to give demonstrations or training either in person or Skype so I never felt isolated.

In the beginning it was hard to become instantly involved in the Tender projects as I had very limited knowledge of my role and the industry. During these times it was very much about building my knowledge through reading policy guidelines and asking questions. As my confidence and experience grew week by week I became even busier combining what I had learned with the real delivery and creation of Tenders.

I was given my own tenders to run during the placement, whilst being supported by my line manager. I was allowed to arrange calls and present findings with external stakeholders whilst also being included in very important meetings/decisions during the course of the year. From the first month of my placement I was taking calls from suppliers and managing their requests so I very much felt like I was adding value to the team and supporting my line manager.

Without a doubt I would recommend a placement to anyone considering it. The real world business perspective it gives you allows you to understand how to behave and act within a professional job role. I have learnt how to cater my approach to the individuals around me and how understanding cultural differences can be very significant in navigating through projects. The routine of work has highlighted to me how I most efficiently work and therefore I will take this approach back into my degree studies. The perspective a placement gives you is very beneficial to understanding how your academic studies fits into your career development.

The general atmosphere was very assuring and comfortable to work in. Each individual colleague had their own personality which they brought to the team and we were never short of laughs during my time on placement. When work really became busy and stressful all members of the team would help each other out and offer support where they could.

As I was the 5th undergraduate within the Procurement department I definitely felt my line manager had a good understanding of how to introduce me to the role and develop me through my placement. I was definitely made aware of my responsibilities and what I was allowed to do throughout. It was very clear on the areas of the business I would contribute too and have an impact on.

The company did offer some training in compliance and systems training and others were made available via an in-house IT platform. It wasn't always easy to find and complete however and some training sessions weren't UK based but were based in Germany. The training was very much geared to established professionals and not necessarily new comers to the business.

A career within procurement is definitely a future career which I will consider in the future. E.ON Climate & Renewables however are undertaking a big transformation with the RWE move so future employment prospects for graduates in the new co is not yet clear. The E.ON UK Graduate scheme is still very much a possibility with information being released very soon as to the graduate options for individuals completing their placements this year.

There was a good undergraduate community during my placement however with there being 3 or more locations you could be based at it meant it wasn't easy to have socials outside of the work environment. The undergraduate community days were good in bringing the undergraduates together but in terms of social scene outside work logistics made this difficult at times.

Living in Nottingham the cost of living was good compared to other areas of the country. E.ON's placement salary in the midlands region left me feeling financially comfortable in this region. Especially relative to being a student with no form of income apart for your loan. Overall Nottingham isn't cheap but its nowhere near what a placement in London may cost!

Nottingham's nightlife in my opinion is definitely up there as a very good city. It has many bars, restaurants, cinemas which made weekends very enjoyable. The office location is also a very doable commute from Sheffield too if you want to stay close to friends if you're studying for a degree in Sheffield.

There were socials and events outside of work that the team organised for instance meals and nights out for big occasions (Christmas), however there wasn't much activities such as the three peaks challenge or activities of this nature during my placement.