Manufacturing Intern Review

I have found my placement year to be the perfect mix of challenging and comfortable. I value the opportunity I was given to develop myself; it's extremely satisfying to look back at when I started the year and see how much more confident I am and how much I have learnt.

I feel lucky in that I was trusted by my direct colleagues with important work. This gave me an invaluable opportunity to show others what I am good at, and to personally discover the aspects of work that I enjoy the most.

Early on in my placement I found it a little daunting to be given large projects and told to 'progress'. However, with hindsight I understand that this approach forced me to learn how to take responsibility. I now realise that my colleagues are always extremely willing to guide me, and will always point me in the right direction.

My business fluctuated throughout the year - there were times especially towards the start of the year where I felt that I wasn't busy enough. However as I developed taking responsibility for myself I was able to balance my 'busyness' to suit my own capability. Communicating regularly with my supervisors was an effective way to set realistic work outputs for me.

I feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to be involved in important projects; I respect my team for the trust that they placed in me. Ultimately I feel extremely well valued, which has been a strong motivational drive to achieve my best, for both my own development and to help the business.

I feel that a lot of the skills I have learnt during my placement year have been on a different scope to those that I learn during university (e.g time management, confidence), which really highlights the value of a year in industry. I am excited to see how what I have learnt this year can impact my final year of uni.

The people around me were all supportive and approachable. Although quiet at times, the office always had an enjoyable atmosphere.

Overall the placement organisation was good. A dedicated Entry Level Talent manager and the intern development programme reflected the business's professionalism towards interns. Areas for improvement could be to ensure everything is ready for the intern as they arrive, and incorporating a face-to-face 'handover' between the leaving and incoming intern.

I felt highly invested in during my placement year. A dedicated intern development scheme enabled me to learn new skills, and then gave the invaluable experience of putting them into practice in a working environment. A review with my manager every 3 months was good for us to evaluate my progress and establish areas I could improve.

It would seem that undertaking a placement year with the company is a great help in achieving a graduate role / full time job after graduation.

My intake consisted of 18 interns, of which I have become very close to over the year. We often organise events, and rarely is there a weekend where we're not doing something together!

Working and living in the city centre meant pricing was never going to be 'cheap as chips', but it was easy to establish the right places to go!

The university contributed a lot to the liveliness of nights out. There are lots of clubs and bars in the city, always a good experience for anyone.

I was fortunate enough to be able to join a university sports team. Also, the company offered many out-of-work volunteering events, and so there was good opportunity to get involved in activities out of work.