Student, CSR & Environmental Affairs Review

I loved my year long placement at Toyota GB. I was given a ownership of some big projects, yet supported through every milestone. The company culture is excellent, and has proved a wonderful place to work. Toyota provide lots of training, meaning you develop transferable skills that can be used on a day-to-day basis.

I have felt incredibly valued by my colleagues - you are not treated as a student, but as a full-time member of staff. Colleagues value your opinion and treat you with respect. There is an excellent culture at Toyota, where you feel comfortable to approach any member of staff regardless of grade.

I have had a very supportive manager and team, who have provided motivation and advice across the year. I've had weekly 1-2-1s with my manager to talk through my work and it also provided opportunity for me to raise an issues. You are set clear objectives which guide the areas of work you should dedicate your time to, as well as what goals you are aiming to achieve.

My role was very busy, particularly during key milestones for certain projects. Day-to-day my time was perfectly balanced and I felt comfortable with the workload. As I approached the end of big projects I did notice an increase in the workload, however I was supported when I did feel under pressure.

I was given a lot of responsibility! I was responsible for two big projects, each with a £20,000 budget which was my sole responsibility. Both projects involved a number of internal and external stakeholders, and I had complete responsibility to manage these relationships. The great thing about being given responsibility is that I had the autonomy to run the projects in my own way, and I could inject a bit of creativity into the work.

I have developed a lot of skills over the year, most noticeably communication and organisational skills. I think that I will be better able to manage my time and workload more effectively when returning to Uni. I also feel incredibly motivated to complete my degree to a high standard, as I would like to be in a strong enough position to gain a role like I have had for the past year.

For a corporate, there is a very relaxed atmosphere in the office. I would describe Toyota as 'work hard, play hard'. Everyone puts in the hours and gives 100%, but equally all will let their hair down and have a laugh. The atmosphere in my team was brilliant - we had a lot of fun, but also everyone worked incredibly hard.

My role was very well organised, I had clear projects to get involved with as well as day-to-day tasks. At the start I had a two week handover with the previous student, which was a great way to immerse myself into the role. You can learn an awful lot in two weeks! We had a clear timetable of training sessions as well, which provided us with many valuable skills.

Toyota put so much investment into training! I did everything from learning how to present, to innovation, to how to best word an email. A lot of time was invested into your own personal development, as well as learning about the company culture and how the Toyota mantra's filter down into your own line of work.

Toyota offer a very robust graduate scheme, which will appeal to students who want to gain a broad overview of the business. It offers a very competitive salary and gives you the opportunity to work your way around the business. A great way to network and learn about how the company works.

There were 20 students within my cohort, and we had a very active social life. A lot of us lived together, and we also would work together (depending on which department). The social scene outside the student cohort is also really good. The Sport and Social Club organise some brilliant nights out that were a lot of fun!

The cost of living is pretty high in Epsom, as we are in the London commuter belt. However, I never struggled financially, and socialising was always great due to the proximity to London. I lived in London and commuted out which worked perfectly.

The nightlife in Epsom is not the best, however you are incredibly close to London which has brilliant nightlife! We often went out in Clapham which has great connections and a really fun scene. There are lots of pubs and bars within Epsom and into London which are good as well.

Definitely! I played cricket for the Toyota Cricket Club which was brilliant! We played businesses across the County and also had training sessions. I also got involved with the Sports and Social Club, and played in rounder's tournaments, attended summer BBQs and lots of other social gatherings.