Procurement and the Supply Chain Summer Placement Review

It has been very enjoyable so far. The work has been appropriately challenging and efforts have been made to make my workload as relevant to my degree as possible. All members of staff have been very friendly, welcoming and helpful. There is a good support system including your own buddy, so you always have someone to talk to whether you have a question or if you would just like a friendly face to chat to.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues as I always felt that the work I was being given had importance to it. It was work that my line managers would have to do if I was not there myself, not tasks imagined at random to keep me busy. Efforts were also made to give me context to the work I was doing, so I knew how the tasks I was completing fit in with the wider efforts of the department.

Support was always very easy to access whenever I needed it. This would come in the form of friendly work colleagues in the office, my buddy, my buddy's friends, my line manager, my team manager and the manager of the placement team, not to mention the friendly HR team. My line manager would always offer help and guidance not only in tasks but also to help me learn and understand the world of work.

Initially I was kept busy, however as time progressed and I began working on larger tasks for a wider range of people which kept me very busy to the point of being under pressure. This was helpful in two respects because it helped me learn the importance or work prioritisation, how to manage the expectations of your managers and communicate capacity effectively, and how to work under pressure as this is a normal aspect of working adult life.

I was given a good level of responsibility as I was entrusted with taking on work that was important to my team and it's progression. All my work was necessary to the progression of other tasks around the company, it was only the skill levels required to complete the tasks which varied. The level of responsibility I was expecting was low anyway due to the nature of the company so in a way my expectations were surpassed.

The skills I developed during my time here will likely be invaluable to me in future life. It has helped me re-focus my self on my studies with renewed enthusiasm now that I know that there are interesting and dynamic companies to work for and who value me and my skills. The placement has also given me more crucial experience within the world of work, helping me develop my people skills and how to build and maintain healthy, professional, working relationships with colleagues. The work I was doing certainly refreshed my knowledge from previous years of university and will also give me real world context for my upcoming studies.

The atmosphere was always very friendly and welcoming. Despite my department being under high levels of strain during my placement, people would always find time to talk to me and help me if I ever needed it. Everyone was kind and had good humour, however the atmosphere was also highly professional and focused which made it easy to focus on completing work to a high standard.

The internship was fairly well organised, you were put under a few taskmasters who would give you work throughout the placement depending on what they needed at the time and how much capacity you had. As a result of this the content of the internship was mainly left up to these taskmasters, relying on them to have work available that was appropriate to be passed on to me. Unfortunately the placement was a little slow to get going because of this, especially if I needed access to certain recourses to do a task which I didn't already have set up on joining the company.

The company certainly did invest in me in order to insure that I got the most out of my placement as possible. This was not in the form of training, but they would always make an effort to get me involved in meetings and visits to suppliers in order to expose me to the different job roles as much as possible and help me absorb as many experiences as possible. Being taken along to interact with suppliers was particularly beneficial as I was taken on tours of their facilities which was interesting for me as a manufacturing engineer.

Very appealing, the company has a wide range of departments which employ a diverse mix of specialties and skill sets. Opportunities to move around within the company are good so if would wanted a new challenge you could always move to a different department, transfer to a different site, and as it is a multinational company there are also opportunities abroad. The company offers good job satisfaction and a sense of importance as it strives for success at the highest levels of engineering, relying on all of it's departments to make this possible.

There was. As can be expected, you can be as social or as quite as you want, however if you make an effort it is easy to build friendships and have a laugh with colleagues due to the friendly and approachable nature of the people in the company. Further more due to the size of the company, there are always plenty of other people of your own age to socialise with and get to know, not to mention the opportunities that joining a sports/social club would offer.

The cost of living was not an issue for me as I live locally to the company site where I was based, so I could commute from home and utilise the very convenient train access to the town of the company. The station is only a 15 minute walk from work. The cost of socialising is fairly high due to the site's proximity to London, however there is a good amount of reasonably priced options for socialising.

The nightlife is pretty good if you prefer going out to pubs with friends, there are many options, plenty that offer good value and a good night out with plenty of people your age. Clubbing is fairly restricted, there are few options and none of them are particularly good. The nearby town of Hitchin would be the best option, however, if a good night out clubbing is required then London is only 40 minutes away on the train.

There is a good range of opportunities to get involved with. This would be more appropriate for students staying in the area longer term, such as year placement students. This would allow them to take full advantage of the range of sports clubs and gyms in order to stay active and healthy.