Commercial Industrial Placement Review

I met some really fantastic people who had a high level of expertise in their field. I made some lifelong friends and learned some invaluable soft and practical skills to take with my into my graduate occupation.

I was given a lot of responsibility by my manager and director, as well as reassurances from them that these responsibilities were based on merit. My colleagues respected me despite my being much younger than many of them and I felt like my opinions and input were valued.

My manager was unfortunately very busy a lot of the time so we spent a fairly limited amount of time in 1-2-1s talking about my progress and development opportunities.

Most of the time my workload was very good and I was able to work hard during the day but go home at a good time. Occasionally I would have extra work to do, but this is the nature of the car industry and is very limited to the beginning of each month. I would also sometimes feel like I had little to do but proactively searched for opportunities to provide more value.

I felt like in the early parts of my placement I was given opportunities that few placement students would have access to, such as creating company-wide reports and running a small department. This decreased towards the end of my placement, but I think that was called for as I would not have had the opportunity to see projects through.

It provided me with much more of an idea of what I enjoy doing and what makes me tick. It provided me with interpersonal, consultation and coding skills which I have chosen to progress in my final year at university.

PSA has a very fun and inclusive atmosphere. There is a sense of place and purpose as part of a wider, but interconnected community and I was able to get to know many people outside of my own department. Despite this, there was still a good work/ fun balance, with people all having the ability to work when necessary.

I had access to a handful of internal training sessions during the year and access to a range of e-learning. Perhaps I would have benefitted from some more formal training and certification, but generally I felt like my director took on board my requests to explore new areas and technologies and supported me in finding the right people to assist me.

The group is redesigning its graduate scheme and by the sounds of things it is a very attractive prospect with the opportunity to learn and grow and feel like the company is really investing in your future. The company has a great track record for retaining talent and wish to keep you from intern to graduate should you show promise during your 12 months.

The nature of driving to work means that after-work socialising can be limited but there is so much opportunity to do so in Coventry. Countless affordable places to eat, drink, relax and have fun. Some of my colleagues and I even had trips to the cinema which was reasonably inexpensive.

For me, Coventry nightlife is fantastic because it has a good atmosphere and is popular with students and locals. It is affordable and conveniently located close to the centre of town. There are several night clubs but also many cocktail bars and restaurants should you wish for a slightly more relaxed evening.