Steriles Buisness Improvement Review

Thoroughly enjoyed myself, it was both a learning experience in terms of in my chosen field of work, but equally a year for personal growth. A lot of my skills were developed including confidence, time management, people skills and collaboration, all due to the quality of the placement at GSK.

I was given large responsibilities on my placement and this really allowed me to feel included and part of the team. I was expected to deliver the same as any other member. I also formed very close connections with those I worked with, not just my team members but people spanning across the full site. It really is a place where everyone knows each other and are happy to help where ever possible.

I had check in's with my manager weekly and we communicated almost every day. I had the support of two other IP's in my area who started at the same time as me and therefore understood what I was going through. I also had a mentor on site, and was given the opportunity to have a mentor from another site.

This varied day to day. I often had days were I was extremely busy, however I choose to fill my times like this and take on more projects. If I had found this overwhelming, for example when I was completing my exams, I was able to drop a lot of my work for a time period to allow me to focus on Uni work. It is completely up to the individual to manage your time and take up opportunities, they will not always be given.

I was given a fair amount of reasonability and entrusted with tasks that affected the entire site. However I was never left to tackle tasks which were above my knowledge or experience, if I was given such a task, it wold always be as part of team. Again this responsibility needed to be earned, through showing your capabilities.

In terms of my degree course specifically probably not much. But in terms of the soft skills I developed, I would say this is invaluable the experience my placement year gave me. This includes growing my confidence massively, to the point I formed a huge network of people I could contact across the site and even across other sites.

The office environment was great! But it really is what you make it. I was in a office with engineers even though this was not my role and as soon as you get speaking to them, they become part of your day and give you that break from work you need.

GSK is extremely good at development. We had courses we could attend almost every week, including a full development week, which all the IP's were encouraged to attend. If you showed interest for a role, or an area of development, they would do there best to facilitate this. Some of the opportunities included attending STEM events, representing GSK and becoming a human Factors advocate after parking in a 10 week course.

The site I worked at was smaller than other GSK sites, and therefore there was only 12 IP's. This did however mean we all formed a tight network and often did social event after work. COVID-19 did however affect this. There was also events organised by IP's across the country bringing all the IP's together for a ball in London and there is one arranged for a graduation.