Industrial Trainee Review

I really enjoyed my Placement Year at Arup. I felt that I carried out real and important work to a good standard, I was given a good amount of responsibility while also having support available if needed. My colleagues were happy to answer any questions, and working on multi-disciplinary projects gave me insight into the work carried out in other teams.

My colleagues were really supportive throughout my year, and gave me a good amount of responsibility as I gained confidence, but were also always very happy to answer any questions.

As my placement was assessed as part of my degree, I required a fair amount of support from my supervisor. While I did not work with him directly in work, he was very supportive in aiding with any university work. MY supervisors on projectwork were all very supportive, gave guidance where needed, and I learnt a lot from each of them.

This varied throughout the year, as my work was very project-based, and we have quite a high turnover of projects throughout the year. As to be expected with a placement, I was initially quite light on work, but I aimed to vocalise this early so that I never had nothing to do at all. As the year progressed and I was allowed more responsibility, I became busier and better at managing my time.

This increased throughout the year, but I was very happy with the trust and responsibility given to me in my year. I attended meetings with clients and external project team members and was increasingly active in these meetings. I was able to voice my opinions and my ideas were taken seriously and often well considered.

My placement year was vital in teaching me the aspects of work life and project work which is not taught at university. For example, I was given an insight into different contract types, learnt more about client-consultant relations etc. Work gave me a perspective on how what I'm learning at university applies to real life, and impacted the modules which I selected going forwards.

Really friendly, I got on with my colleagues very well. Arup has great perks for employees, and sees the importance of employee satisfaction. There were regular socials and societies within the company, which allowed me to meet other people in the office who I otherwise would not have interacted with. The highlight was the football tour to Cork and the ski trip!

The work placement was well set up, and you could tell that the team had accommodated placement students previously. I would have preferred that I didn't start at the same time as the new graduates, as this meant that there was a lot of new early careers staff and not enough projects which could be used as training projects initially. I suggested that the placements be staggered going onwards, and this has been taken into account for the coming year.

I was able to undertake a lot of training throughout the year, although not all training courses were available to me. My personal development and goals were taken seriously however, and a large amount of training courses in various software, different departments and work skills were made available to me.

I cannot have a guaranteed job as I still have 2 years to finish my degree. However, if Arup Bristol are hiring when I graduate, I would very happily return to work for them in future. Throughout the year, I have been very impressed with Arup's commitment to their ethics and ethos, as well as the variety and complexity of projectwork carried out.

There was an amazing social scene amongst the fellow placement students and colleagues, and I am happy to say that many of the people I worked with I would now consider very good friends. Arup organised regular socials, as well as sports societies, volunteer groups and trips away. During my year I went to Cork to play in the company football tournament, and went skiing with the graduate ski trip.

Bristol is quite an expensive place to live, and after London is the second most expensive place to live in the UK. I was lucky as a Bristol university student, to already have accomodation and housemates to share with. However, other placements students were able to find cheap accomodation within the city. Socialising is on the more expensive side compared to the rest of the UK, but not highly expensive, and no where near london prices.

Bristol is a fantastic city. It has a great atmosphere, a really amazing music scene, and great clubs (with a variety of different vibes). There is something for everyone within this city. It is also a small enough city that generally you can get everywhere easily by walking or cycling.

Arup ran volunteering opportunities, including harbourside clean ups which I got involved with. I also played football and touch rugby through the company, and also took part in a local triathlon. There are many large socials throughout the year (Christmas and Summer parties, as well as End of Financial Year party), and monthly pub trips.