Business Operations Intern Review

The internship has been a great learning experience. Overall, I enjoyed the whole internship, I have learnt a phenomenal amount about "real life work", I have had the opportunity to network, work with business directors and showcase my own abilities with my own project. I do believe there are areas for improvement which I have highlighted to the business which have been listen to and will hopefully be carried out next year.

Colleagues both vertical and horizontal to made me feel valued. I have never felt unvalued as an intern at Lockheed Martin (RMS, Havant). All colleagues support and help one another day to day, passing on tasks when workload is un-manageable to being able to talk through issues. Your colleagues are your support network, you spend more time with them then your family so feeling valued and supported makes going into work enjoyable.

Management at Lockheed Martin (RMS, Havant) are extremely supportive, helpful and understanding. I am yet to meet a manager that is not approachable and willing to assist or help with tasks. I have been offered a range of opportunities through different managers within the business, allowing me to develop skills in areas I did not expect to.

As my internship included rotations throughout different business areas I did not have a set job role. Therefore, the work load varied daily as it depended on business needs. However, my line manager and other members of my team would delegate tasks to me if I needed additional work to do. There are busy weeks where the time flies by and weeks when it is a little more quiet, but I have never sat at my desk with no work to do.

Responsibility varied throughout department rotations. I had a higher level of responsibility - being a task lead for numerous tasks on a project. Whilst other areas preferred me to assist an employee complete work. There is a fine balance, Lockheed Martin (RMS, Havant) allows interns to grow and develop in a safe environment for the intern, providing them with responsibility on lower risk projects whilst providing them with a support and guidance for higher risk projects.

I believe as most of the other interns agree you do not realise the skills you have developed until you go back to university or complete an assignment. Whilst on placement I was required to complete an assessment for university, I achieved 91% I have never a achieved a 90%+ grade throughout my first two years of university - so I think that speaks for it's self! Some of the key skills I have learnt that I believe will be beneficial when returning to university include: -Communication and Persuasion & Negotiation -Time Management and being able to say "no" when too busy -Understanding complex subjects in a short period of time and achieving results The biggest factor is REAL LIFE EXPIRENCE.. the "case studies" I can use from this placement will be invaluable when returning to university.

Offices vary, some are very lively, busy and high stress. Others very calm, quiet and composed. It depends on programmes or areas you work on, there has never been a "bad atmosphere" in any of the offices I have been in. There is a lot of cake involved for every birthday or celebration though! And everyone has always friendly and polite to me.

The overall work placement structure is organised, my line manager explained the process and the early careers rep had organised our first week with presentations, talks and tours. IT and gaining access to systems can take time but this is a business wide issue, not just Intern related. Although, it is unclear as to what work you will be doing until you start the rotation, you will know where you are going and who you are working with.

Training and Development that managers are able to provide so computer based learning, ethics and inclusion courses where plentiful. However, for training that is outside the business I received none. I believe that this is mainly due to the business set up in which the business asks employees to apply for training at the end of one year, a board of employees then assess each case and award funding for training for successful candidates. Therefore, as an intern this is not particularly viable to gain access to other forms of training.

Lockheed Martin (RMS, Havant) are starting to heavily invest in early careers. There is a graduate scheme, which is a two year programme providing the opportunity to gain experience and training. There are opportunities for career progression but it is down to the employee to actively engage in progressing their career. As far as I am aware, there is a sign on bonus when you join as-well as an array of company benefits. There is more Lockheed (RMS, Havant) could do to make future employment prospects more appealing for non-engineering graduates as most activities and schemes are heavily swayed towards engineering. Maybe a business/"non engineering" scheme would be of benefit to meet the needs of business grads?

Yes! We had lots of social events from clubbing, BBQ's to mini golf and cycling. There where activities for everyone to get involved outside of work and make friends, a lot of people house shared which provided a social circle as well. It is all the early careers so apprentices, graduates and interns that are included in the social events. There is also a "lunch group" so you can go sit and have lunch together in the canteen. As-well as some people go and play table tennis in their break together. There are plenty of opportunities to social and get to know each other.

I don't have a lot to say on living costs as I lived at home throughout the internship. There is Portsmouth University so there are rooms in houses for £300-400 in the student area which is close to nightlife, sports facilities and shopping centres. Havant also have some low cost accommodation but no nightlife other than a few pubs but there is a small shopping precinct. There is plenty of public transport available for those that do not drive, but car is the easiest & quickest method from Portsmouth. Plenty of Lidl's and Aldi's in Portsmouth for low cost food shopping, Gunwharf has brand outlets (Jack Wills, Reiss, Hobbs) there is also Commercial Road with Primark/H&M/Topshop/Newlook etc so plenty of shops.

Night Life in Havant is almost non existent - minus a few Pubs. However, Portsmouth has many clubs, bars and pubs all within a small radius of each other. There are also lots of chain and non chain restaurants in Portsmouth which provide a range of foods to burger joints, Italians, Chinese, Lebanese, Thai, Indian, American Diner style and classic pub food - can be mainly found at Gunwharf and Albert Road, if driving there is also Port Solent.

Plenty of social events for early careers as stated before "Yes! We had lots of social events from clubbing, BBQ's to mini golf and cycling. There where activities for everyone to get involved outside of work and make friends, a lot of people house shared which provided a social circle as well. It is all the early careers so apprentices, graduates and interns that are included in the social events. There is also a "lunch group" so you can go sit and have lunch together in the canteen. As-well as some people go and play table tennis in their break together. There are plenty of opportunities to social and get to know each other." But there where also department pub crawls, team breakfasts and also bi yearly pub crawl for the whole business.