Industrial Placement Engineer Review

After a really slow start the work load began building and the job become interesting virtually over night. Varied amount of work, chance to work alongside professional engineers. There were various tasks I undertook, ranging from practical experiences to Microsoft office work. There was lots of interaction with the different engineering departments to learn how they collaborate.

My opinion was highly valued by EDF employees and external contractors. Age is not an issue here, and all experience is accepted. A lot of work I undertook involved me working alongside non-EDF employees so it was important for me to gain their trust quite quickly so they could utilise me.

A very thoughtful, encouraging, and enthusiastic work environment. If I was ever stuck I knew I didn't have to look far to find help. There were also times when my managers and peers recognised my strengths and decided to put me through extra training to develop my skills further. Training is important here.

The first month was very empty, with gradually building until around 4 months in where I was busy every single day and had to really use my time and work management skills to get tasks done. I quickly had to learn how to use outlook correctly and efficiently in order to keep myself on track.

I was treated the same as any staff member. I had to take full responsibility of my work and if there faults this was my issue to sort. Different managers however had different levels of trust in you; some would give a difficult task to see how far you could run with it.

I had already graduated when I undertook my placement, and so have used this opportunity for developing my business skills. I hope to remain with EDF Energy, as I believe the fact they have invested their time and effort into training me shows how they value what I have given them.

The company had a very encouraging, friendly, and enthusiastic environment. Much to my surprise the company was actually quite a young workforce which I believe it made me an industrial placement engineer feel a lot more down to earth. Older generation workers were welcoming to myself and others alike too.

When I first arrived I must be honest and I wasn't impressed. The HR was awful and there was a lot of cloud over when I would even start. The person who was put in charge of initially looking after me was changing roles within the company so did not have time to look after me which made me feel a bit unwanted. However, once I was up to speed with training I was given the chance to shine and I didn't get bored once after that.

As part of the company compliance, it was mandatory to attend a number of training sessions. The induction course was 1 full day, followed by another 3 full days of training a few weeks later. Post this I was also offered the chance to do further training in my own time via online.

The nuclear industry is something which is not going away. The UK needs nuclear new builds, and with Hinckley Point C, EDF Energy have never looked so prosperous. The company offers young engineers the chance to join the grad scheme and further beyond with entry level jobs such as system engineer roles.

I started my industrial placement at an odd time so initially it was difficult for me to make friends. However as I became more confident learning where certain people are placed it was much easier to understand the social scene in and outside work. A happy workforce is a healthy workforce.

Being from the East Midlands, it was a bit of shock moving down to Kent. The South East is a notoriously expensive place to live, so my options with the Industrial Placement salary were limited. I lived in Ashford due to its proximity to the high speed train network and decent nightlife.

Dungeness itself is a power plant in the middle of a desert. There isn't much to do there. However, most people live in Ashford which is a town of 60,000 people. There are a numbers of bars, pubs, clubs, and other activities such as bowling, cinema, and many restaurants. Work friends would join me.

Initially I wasn't invited to any opportunities outside of work, however once I caught up to speed with networking I realised there were lots of chances to go on days out. Paint-balling, go-karting, golf, football. I do think these activities could have been advertised better, and cheaper too. This also wasn't helped because of Dungeness's remote location.