Communication Assistant Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement at Tata Steel Port Talbot . I have enjoyed learning about and experiencing workload in internal communication, external communication and community liaison. I have enjoyed being able to visit other sites of Tata Steel including Corby and Ijmuiden and increasing my knowledge of Communication as a function and learning about the steel industry and steel making process.

From the very start of my placement I have felt part of the team and not like a temporary student placement. As the team is very small but busy I have had responsibilities and workload from the very beginning, thus helping me to feel valued. I have been trusted to complete tasks with little supervision from the start.

I have had great support from all of the team especially my supervisor/manager. She has encouraged me and had faith/trust in me from the start. I have been encouraged to take part in as many aspects of the job as I want, to get as much as possible out of the year. We have had regular one to one meetings to review and discuss performance and workload.

This has varied slightly over the course of the placement. Some days very busy, for example around the Christmas period or around times of seasonal charitable drives, if there is lots of admin to do and if the newspaper deadline is approaching. Some days have been more relaxed, this can depend on how proactive I am.

As the team is very small but busy I have had responsibilities and workload from the very beginning. I have had responsibility in sourcing articles for the newspaper and making external visits to local schools and colleges. I am responsible for my own workload for the most part in my role.

Joining a team in a large company which is very busy, in a job role which is very varied has helped increase my knowledge and practical skills in the Comms function and has also increased my administration skills. I have had ample opportunities to network and build relationships with people at various levels within the business. All of which are transferable skills and will give me confidence when entering a new role.

The general atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and fun. The office is open plan which makes communication easy. I have found this way of working to be helpful as you can learn and pick things up from other peoples conversations and discussions. I believe that this atmosphere encourages a sense of camaraderie and can encourage team bonding even in the work place.

Generally I feel it has been a 'get in and get on' type of role. I think things could have been organised more efficiently, some of which though, are out of the departments control e.g I.T issues and permissions. I think there could be more initial meetings/work days with other relevant departments. For example days could be set up to spend time with departments like environment, HR, recruitment, transformation/working better together etc to see how their function works and how it relates to 'me and my role'.

I have had plenty of opportunities to learn from my colleagues and they have always been willing to chat with and teach me. I have also had the opportunity to attend external courses which have valuable in my learning experience. I do feel more opportunities of external learning and more formal internal learning could be beneficial but I would say that had I asked for more, I would have been allowed to take these opportunities. Perhaps more formal learning could be included as a mandatory element.

I would have loved to continue in the department but there are no opportunities. I have actively looked for and applied for other positions within the company as I believe it to be a great company to have and develop a career. The company (from what I've seen) invests in it's people and has a general friendly and encouraging environment.

There does seem to a social 'scene' amongst other young people in the business, mainly in the Magnet (young professionals) group. They have regular opportunities to socialise in a formal work/learning setting and also organise informal outings including day trips, sports and social events and evenings. I tend not to get involved in any social activities though as i have children and a busy home life.

I'm not really sure with the socialising aspect-having three kids. I would probably say that the cost of living and the cost of socialising are average to low cost for the South Wales area in Port Talbot and likely to be fairly low cost compared to the rest of the UK

I have not gone on many night time social events. There probably isn't much that goes on in Port Talbot itself people are most like to go on night outs in Swansea or Cardiff. Generally they are known for the better nights out as they are the main cities in South Wales

With the Magnet group there are regular opportunities to get together outside of work. They organise informal outings including day trips, sports and social events and evenings. The team get together less frequently due to the fact that most have families and children/ busy home lives but do try to incorporate team building activities through the year