Maintenance Planner Review

As expected the initial period was a bit slow, however I did expect things to pick up a bit after a month or so and I was a bit disappointed when this was not the case. Overall, even though things have got more interesting, engaging and enjoyable over the last month or two, I'd say I haven't enjoyed the placement as a whole (even though colleagues have been great).

Fairly well as a whole - everyone in my department is great and a lot more easy-going than I had anticipated, with the office being a positive environment to work; lots of laughs and jokes while remaining professional made it easy to get along with people from the get go. Ideally would've liked to have more opportunities to work with individuals.

Not very much; I would have if I asked for it but I prefer working things out myself to help me learn. Colleagues were always available for help so if needed I usually would seek guidance from them rather than management.

Not busy at all! This is the worse thing about the placement in my opinion but I know my situation is fairly unique; This was a very last-minute and rushed placement appointment (job opening to interviewing to starting date was approximately 3 weeks, with start date in October. When other interns, they had interviews in the first 5 months of the year and mostly started in July.) and because of this I feel the workload/projects I was given hadn't been thought out well enough. During interview stage, I was told my 2 projects I would be doing over the year - I finished these both after about 4 months and since then I've been doing the boring, repetitive Excel jobs (yes I have asked for more work and I have been given micro projects that appear to be a bit of a made-up piece of work to keep me busy and would only take a week max to do).

Approximately what you might expect as an intern on a placement - You are ultimately part of a team and you have the same right to speak out as everyone else and I certainly felt I was able to do this when necessary. In terms of responsibly though, personally I've had a little less than I expected (but I know other interns who have had more so there's probably a good average level across all interns).

For degree studies and beyond I've definitely developed teamwork skills, communication and organisation. I've also gained the invaluable knowledge of experience working in a true professional working environment. Disappointingly I haven't really developed any technical skills via use with equipment or software so far

Amazing - far better than I could have expected. Everyone very kind, and a few comedians helped the day from dragging by at times. Also lots of funny sarcasm.

Poorly - last minute job opening and rushed application process. This was reflected during the placement with badly planned projects as aforementioned. Also, it was nearly 6 months before my uniform/workwear was given to me (unsure if this was down to forgotten to order or just generally slow service, but my housemate who arrived a month after me received his same workwear after just a month - a full 3-4 months before me)

Barely at all - lots of budget cuts in the department so even permanent colleagues were removed from German class, for example. I wasn't expecting to be trained though as I am not permanent.

As a permanent employee I know I would have long term working and goals to work towards so I would always have something to be working on, so assuming this is the case I would consider future employment yes.

Yes very good. Weekly socials at different venues was great for meeting new people. Also almost all interns lived within a mile or so of the plant so it was common to visit each other or go for meals on weekend and evenings too.

Very expensive; Oxford is relatively comparable to London. I did choose to live in a nicer house very close to the plant which meant rent was more expensive than a lot of others - i payed £680pcm incl. bills & utilities but there were plenty of rooms between £450+, obviously not as nice and without bills usually. Socialising in Oxford is also as expected really, average pint price around £4.50ish, but again plenty of places less and more expensive.

Plenty of great pubs nearby. Top location for a casual night.

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