Digital Change Undergraduate Review

I was privileged to have worked in two amazing teams and equally exciting roles! There was also such an amazing workplace culture throughout the organisation which made me feel welcome and comfortable from my very first day. I woke up every day looking forward to what my placement had in store as the two roles constantly kept me on my toes and threw something new at me every day.

I was blessed to have colleagues around me that were very vocal and active in giving feedback which was great when it came to my development as I could clearly tell that they wanted to me to thrive and constantly improve. Also, the send-off I received when my placement came to an end was amazing as I was given a huge A3 card which everyone from Marketing and Innovation had signed and some other gifts to go with it. Made me feel so appreciated.

My managers, whether in the office or not, we’re always on hand to provide me much needed support and guidance throughout my placement year. I also had monthly 1-to-1’s with my managers in order to make sure I was comfortable with the work load and that I was on track.

As I previously mentioned, my role had quite an ad-hoc nature on a daily basis so I was always kept busy with various tasks throughout the day. And if my specific role was a little quiet one day then I would spend my time making posters and videos that other people had asked me to make for them.

At first, I was slightly micro-managed as i was still adjusting to the role and the new surroundings but once I got the hang of my role, I was allowed to not only complete those without supervision but also take on extra work as well such as the video-making and other ad-hoc tasks.

Massively! I have chosen a ‘Managing Change & Innovation’ module for my final year of studies and I’m also looking to acquire a Digital / Marketing role after I have graduated in order to utilise the skills I have developed whilst undertaking my placement year. I can’t thank VWFS and my colleagues enough for the experience I received.

The atmosphere was amazing and always buzzing, especially in the department I worked in as it was working on innovative customer service solutions and also, everyone had a great rapport as we would have weekly stand ups to share success stories and updates in regards to the products the team was working on.

Very organised in my opinion as there was a clear focus on learning and development which all of the undergraduates found essential to their placement experience. Also, there was a clear structure in place from my team in regards to my progression throughout the year and how much responsibility I would be taking on.

As mentioned in the previous answer, VWFS invested very heavily in the undergraduate learning and development sessions that were hosted at various points in the year. I was also able to help with the Comms plan and marketing materials for the Learning at Work Week which was received greatly by the wider organisation.

As mentioned before, there is a huge emphasis on learning and development within the organisation in order to aid a healthy career progression. Also, due to the current flexible nature of the automotive industry and the new technologies that are being developed, this will only create more job opportunities in the future.

Yes, there was a great social atmosphere between the students and we would always try to organise stuff outside of work. It’s granted that not everyone got along but that was bound to happen in my opinion. However, on the whole, I enjoyed most of the students’ company in and outside of work.

It was okay at best. Having to pay rent, petrol and do a food shop every week, it was a little hard sometimes to set money aside to socialise but I managed.

It was good, not the best, but still decent enough to have a good night. The Hub was central to the nightlife in my opinion.

Yes, there was always a way to get involved with opportunities outside of work. I was involved in the football which went unbeaten for most of my placement year and I took every opportunity to get involved with voluntary work such as the Midnight Moo and the Santa Dash which raised substantial amounts of money for Willen Hospice.