Logistics Placement Student Review

I have enjoyed my placement, I have never felt worried or stressed and feel that I have learnt a lot. I like the brand, working for MINI specifically has been good and the placement year has been worth it. It was a pleasant year and I'd reccommend it to others.

Sometimes I didn't feel totally 'valued' by my colleagues, although I always felt well respected and had a valued opinion. At times I felt more capable than the work I was given, but I suppose that is the nature of the work. Most people were nice and friendly to me.

For the most part I was supported by my manager and could have had a chat about any concerns if I had wanted but at the same time I didn't see them that often as they were often busy. I was quite in charge of everything that I chose to do, myself.

At the beginning I felt that the handover period was too long and I had nothing to do. While it's better to have a nice and relaxed start than to feel over worked, I enjoy staying busy and was eager to add value to the company, which slightly irritated me. However, it did pick up and I enojyed most tasks.

There was a good balance of responsibility for the most part. But I felt that I could have done and been in charge of more, especially as I am someone who likes to be in charge. It was hard at times, although, to have work of real responsibility, especially at the start, as a lot of it was quite complicated.

I learnt a lot about the company, I feel in a much better position to secure a graduate job and to return to my degree, finish it strong and enjoy my career afterwards, than I had before the placement. I didn't really receive any specific training, but improved my excel skills, workplace skills etc. throughtout the year.

I really liked and appreciated the general atmosphere. The office itself was airy, light and open-plan, which made a nice environment. It was far better than I had expected and made the year more enjoyable. Everyone was pleasant with each other and it was easy to see / meet other people if you wanted to.

Not very well at all, really. It worked out fine in the end, but it lacked structure and planning. A lot of the placement was last minute and not necessarily well organised, but at the same time everything worked, I adjusted to the role in a gentle way and it was all okay.

Nothing specific, but I visited the other BMW plants in the UK to see the body pressings, Rolls-Royce plant and engines plant, which was good to see. I attended a few training sessions on various programmes but didn't have any structured training. I learnt a lot in my role, though.

They exist, but the number of placement students far exceeds the number of graduate scheme roles available. I think I would be in a better place to get a graduate job but would have to apply and do the whole process again. I am not local though, so would explore other options, but this is a personal choice. Previous interns have returned to my department.

Really good social scene with the other placement students. It was amazing and far better than I had expected before starting my role. There were weekly socials at local pubs, several bar crawls etc., and there are a lot of other students on the Plant who are easy to meet and really friendly.

A lot of others complained about the costs of Oxford, but it was similar to home for me. Accomodation and living/food costs will probably use your entire monthly pay so it is hard to save money during the year. So the salary is worth less than it would be in other areas, to the extent that poeple commute 1+ hours each way daily to avoid paying for accomodation in Oxford.

Being near Oxford Brookes is a positive as nightlife during the university dates definitely exists and is present. Being on a placement you wouldn't want to go out loads anyway, but there are loads of pubs and a few clubs (which are okay) if you want to go out at night.

Starting (and finishing) early and having half-day Friday's was fantastic as it left loads of time after work to get involved in activities. You could easily have done after-work sports, go for a meal, go shopping etc. after work and even do something on Friday's. So that was very positive.