Learning and Development Undergrad Review

My placement year at VWFS has been one of the best experiences. I have learnt so much in my time here and the exposure the undergrads are given to the business is incredible. You are welcomed in straight away and made to feel part of the company. I have met friends for life, including colleagues and fellow undergrads!

Very strongly. You are not treated any differently to a full time member of staff. At first you are learning the ropes, like every new starter but my collages always treated me with respect and did not shy away from giving me responsibility. In my role I was trusted with multiple business projects and the team were always there to help, but give you the responsibly to do it your way,

I was fully supported by my whole team and the wider department. In HR we have a few different teams within our department. However, we feel like one big team! If I ever needed support or guidance outside of my team, everyone would be willing to help me and vise versa. VWFS have a really supportive culture and it brings everyone together.

I am always busy, there is always tasks for you to pick up. You will have your own daily job lists that you will be fully responsible for and then the other tasks will be your own projects or helping your team or other teams on different projects. It is the nice kind of busy though, when the day goes quickly and you are enjoying what you are doing.

I would say i was given quite a lot of responsibility,. There are some jobs which the undergraduate takes ownership of, so you need to ensure you are doing all those jobs and if you are not around you have made sure you have completed them in advance or put something in place to ensure it is completed. All of our managers fully trusted us to take on our own tasks and i think being given responsibility from the first few weeks really made me feel included and motivated me.

The skills I have learnt will assist me in not only my final year but also future careers. As undergraduates, you are given multiple opportunities to attend courses to increase your skill. I attended an excel course and powerful presentation course. These are both crucial skills for my future as I now feel comfortable with working a spreadsheet and using the software to its full potential and also presenting with an impact. I would now have the confidence to volunteer to present to an audience which is the opposite to how I felt when I first started.

Friendly. Everyone is really friendly, passing by people in the corridor in meeting them in the kitchen whilst making a drink. Everyone always made an effort to engage with you. The environment is professional but it is in VWFS culture to also enjoy work and have fun. Everyone works very hard, but there is always people laughing and smiling around the office.

Very well organized. From the online application to the assessment day all the way to my last day. I knew what I was doing and what was expected of me. VWFS communicated everything I needed to know and were always quick to respond. When I first arrived I had my first week set out for me, what I would be doing and who I would be meeting. It was a very well organized placement.

As I mentioned before, as undergraduates we were giving multiple opportunities to go on courses ran specifically for us, such as excel and powerful presentations. We were also given seminars and talks from current graduates and colleagues around important topics like future careers and linkedIn. The business really invested in us to give us the right skill sets to not only succeed in our roles here but in the future.

After my years placement i would highly consider future employment with VWFS. My placement was so enjoyable and i learnt so much, i would like to continue that after University. I learnt a lot about the company whilst working here and i think it is important that your values match the companies you are working for. I think VWFS is a great company that treats its staff excellently and i would be happy to come back and work here.

Yes. There are 27 undergraduate role and many of us relocated to Milton Keynes. Meaning there were around 4/5 houses of undergraduates all living very closely together. From the first day we were arranging plans to go out and meet up. Everyone was involved people who had relocated and people who lived locally already. There was always a plan on the weekend for everyone to be involved in:)

Relocating to Milton Keynes was cheaper than my university accommodation. Rent varied from house to house but on average cost a month of renting was £400-500. There is a Lidl and Tesco very close to where the undergraduate houses are so living was pretty cheap. All the nights out and taxis were a acceptable price, nothing like London prices!

There was plenty to do, however clubs are quite limited in MK! But there are so many bars like slug and lettuce and all bar one where you can all go and still have a great night out. Pop world is close by and is a good laugh but we stuck to pre-drinks and bars mostly.

Yes, there are different sports clubs you can be involved with at VW. There are always charity events going on at weekends which are great to get involved in. On one of our frist weekends us undergrads helped steward in a midnight walk for charity. Our teams were all really social and organizing meals and activities outside of work too.