Undergraduate Engineer Review

I enjoyed my placement a lot. It was something completely different to what I am used to at university and was a great opportunity to get practical experience as I was based on a live site. I learnt a lot of new skills that I feel will be useful in a future career in the construction industry.

I worked closely with someone who had recently finished the graduate scheme. He allocated me tasks to do independently or alongside himself or another engineer. I felt valued by him throughout my placement as I was often praised for the work I completed. All of the work I did seemed to be of value, hence I felt valued by my colleagues.

I worked closely with the same person throughout my placement which meant I had constant guidance throughout. I felt I had a point of contact who was always able to help which was very reassuring. Everyone on site was friendly and willing to help or answer any questions I had.

After the first week, I was relatively busy all of the time. I had enough work to do that I was not bored however I never felt overloaded with work either. Weekly meetings were used to plan out my work for the forthcoming week which meant I had an idea of what I needed to do.

As time went on in my placement I was given more responsibility. At the start I often worked alongside another engineer, however I later conducted surveys independently and presented these in reports for distribution. I marked out 'builders work holes' independently and modified designs of handrails which were sent off to manufacturers. I feel I was given a good amount of responsibility for my ability.

I think the skills I learnt will be very useful in a future career in the construction or civil engineering industry. I am not sure how useful they will be in assisting my degree as the majority of the work I completed didn't rely on my knowledge from university. However, it may be relevant to what I learn in my final two years. I developed a lot of 'soft skills' that will be useful in my degree and future career, such as communication and organisation.

Everyone was often busy and had things to do. People were motivated to get their jobs done and progress the project. There was constant communication between everyone both face-to-face and electronic. Different members of the team were often able to help out each other. The atmosphere reflected how the job was fast paced, especially as it was towards the end of the project.

Overall, my placement was very well organised. When I arrived, my line manager had a training programme and delivery plan prepared for me that detailed objectives for me to achieve over ten weeks. Weekly meetings with the engineers I was working closely with ensured I had a plan for the forthcoming week which made it easier to plan and organise my time.

The company paid for and organised my CSCS health, safety and environmental test. They also provided me with a revision book for this. I was attended a cooperate induction and multiple webinars which focused on different parts of the company such as quality. I learnt about a lot of training opportunities within the company that I could have undertaken if I was there for a longer time.

I am very interested in working with Sisk in the future. Their graduate scheme appeals to me due to the amount of rotation and variation in placements. I learnt a lot about the scheme during the cooperate induction and from an engineer on site who had just finished the scheme.

Unfortunately there were no other placement students on my site. However, all the students on a Sisk summer placement or year in industry were in a group chat. This was used to try and organise a place and time to meet up however it was very difficult due to everyone's locations.

I did not live in the local area so I am not sure.

I did not live in the local area so I am not sure.

Over the ten weeks of my placement, there were three 'socials' organised by a member of the team which included the cinema and bowling.