IP Steriles Engineer Review

Often felt like the placement scheme at site is not taken very seriously. Not given access to same opportunities as other sites. Felt like managers not thinking about whether the have enough time and enough for the student to do. Often left with nothing/nothing worthwhile to do, and often killing time.

Work not particularly meaningful/not taken seriously by others. People will do something themselves rather than run you through it. Often viewed as just a placement student rather than a normal employee. At beginning of placement, I was in a separate building to my team/colleagues which was isolating and made things difficult.

Support and Guidance given when required, but often had to wait a while for it as management were often too busy. Management were always incredibly busy meaning you were never their priority. Had to ask a number of times before getting help. SRG were helpful also but were often confusing/contradicting.

Often left with nothing/nothing meaningful to do, and found myself filling time a lot. There were rare incredibly busy patches, but nothing in between. Often shadowed different areas when I was not busy, but this often felt like just something to pass the time. Often felt like some work was just "busy work" to keep me occupied as opposed to genuine worthwhile contributions

I was given reasonable responsibility. Ran Meetings and was involved in projects, however again, none of it was critical, and how much of this is worthwhile work, or just unimportant busy work. I Was involved in external site visits and planned and arranged and took part in aspects of these.

I don't believe the skills I learned will assist me at university, likewise none of the technical knowledge I learnt at University has helped me in my placement. All I feel that I have learnt is a few soft skills such as time keeping etc which will help me at uni

Atmosphere was good during mornings and shift changeover as the office was full. Throughout the day it was often quiet as all the engineers would be working on their lines. As I was located in a separate office from my team for the 1st 6 months, it was difficult to get involved. My initial office was also quiet as everybody was sat in teams and I was on my own.

Placement seemed quite unorganised, lots of people didn't really know what was going on. Not a clear plan set out for what I would be getting involved with. Changed manager due to a job change for my initial manager halfway through the 12 months, so 2nd manager was not expecting an IP.

Standard Site wide learning packages. Apart from that, very poorly. Numerous Events/Workshops/site visits taking place at other sites, but we were repeatedly denied 'Early Talent' funding to go to these events despite numerous promises when we applied/started and throughout the placement. More southerly sites were able to attend these events and we felt like we missed out on these opportunities. No other training/development available, company not willing to invest as "we were only hear for a year" and there was not sufficient "benefit to the business". Gave impression that IP scheme not taken seriously

Placement students seem to be expected to apply to the "future leaders" grad scheme after finishing there placements. This is constantly advertised and pushed to us as the next step. This looks less appealing after my year here as there is no way to ensure the experience will not be the same.

Social scene was okay. There was about 10 placement students living in the town, and we all socialised together on numerous occasions. However not with colleagues as they did not seem to socialise together/worked shifts, the age range was quite high, and I was not aware of/invited to any Christmas function

I lived at home for my placement meaning I saved money in that respect and the area is relatively cheap and the wages high compared to other placements at other companies. Transport is potentially expensive, but if you live within the town itself, the site is within walking distance of anywhere in the town

There is a decent nightlife in the area. Not fantastic and full of choice like in a city but it is sufficient and surprisingly active for the size/age of the town. It is taxi-able to bigger town Darlington, and close to big cities of Leeds and Newcastle which themselves have very good nightlife's.

There is a lot to get involved with outside of work. There are a number of good sports teams in the area and many other activities to get involved with. Nearby Darlington has every amenity a big town has, and is very well connected being on the east coast main line