Planning engineer Review

Working at Nissan was good, however this was after a few months as the initial onboarding was difficult due to a lack of structure. As not all of the departments do the same job I think the inductions need to be focussed on departmental jobs rather than all placements being briefed together on a general job, however once you find your feet the opportunity’s are endless if you do a good job which is good

In terms of my team I feel like I was included very well and I really couldn’t have asked for any more, there is a large age gap in the workforce at Nissan so you do have to be prepared to talk to individuals who are much older than you but I did enjoy this as they hold a wealth of experience in the “Nissan way” so tapping into this knowledge is vital in doing well

I received support when I asked for it which is really all you can ask for, when on placement the job is only as good as you make it so it really is important to show willingness towards any challenge that is asked of you. However it is also very important to ask when you are unsure as making a mistake in engineering could mean you create a quality concern or stop the line which is the last thing you will want to do as a young person

Working in engineering is a very challenging department, this is met with an abundance of jobs/ tasks to complete. You have to know when to say no to jobs if you have a lot on as unless you say no one will know. It is very easy to take on more than you can manage in your normal time and overtime is expected if you have unfinished jobs or tasks, especially if you need to enter the line.

Doing a placement year at Nissan in the engineering department gives you a huge amount of responsibility as you will be left alone to complete tasks independently. In my team I was working independently for most of the placement year as that is what was expected of me due to a lack in head count. You are given real budgets to perform real tasks that will make a difference so it is important that you are sensible and organised

Working in industry for me has helped to build upon soft skills related to employment rather than things that will directly help my degree, in engineering the ability to use CAD packages is important so that does directly relate to the degree but outside of that you run a more management show instead so this will help you in your future career rather than your degree but again the placement is what you make it

The office is a work environment and that is exactly what you are expected to do in it, I ha d a good team which would help me if I requested it but I was expected to sit and complete my tasks independently instead of having “fun”. The environment is pleasant as long as you are seen to be doing as you are told or requested, you can sit and have a coffee whilst you work also which is nice

My personal experience wasn’t completely smooth running as there seems to be an amount of diss joint between the Human Resources department and the rest of the Nissan departments. This does create a problem when you first start as your computer systems don’t have any of the required software installed, or any of the specific drives required to run these softwares. If this was set up and ready to use when you first start that would help

Training programmes are available to placement students however due to covid I missed out on all of the courses that I had booked in which is a shame, however, this is completely out of nissans hands and this would have been very different if it weren’t for covid. One point I would make is that there is a lack in software specific training courses that you are required to be fluent in using so this should change.

Due to covid the chances of securing a job are very slim, I received great marks on my appraisals but Nissan are on a hiring freeze and they do not give job offers at this time, however you are looked upon more favourably if you have already undertaken a placement year at Nissan when you reapply for a graduate job

I do not really know any of the other placement students that took part in this course so I would say this is bad, however I know the whole of my team extremely well as there were a lot of people that I shared hobbies with and have continued to do these hobbies with these people since being at work. I also ended up being invited on two separate holidays with my colleagues which was very fun

Accommodation around Nissan is very cheap and affordable so from what I know this would be a very big bonus to anyone coming from far to do the placement year, however, I did not stay in rented accommodation whilst at Nissan

The nightlife around Nissan is fantastic, you’re very close to Newcastle which is where most people stay so parties are really good. The bars and clubs are also extremely good fun and they are very affordable with Newcastle being a student city also. There are opportunities to go out any day of the week and you can go and explore all of the bars and clubs with your fellow colleagues and graduates as they all are happy to socialise

Within my team there was a lot of activity’s to be involved in there are plenty of sports clubs near Nissan but the sporting community in Nissan is also very good. There are plenty of people working at Nissan so no matter how obscure your sport there will more than likely be someone else in your team that has either the same interest or an interest that is very similar and will be more than happy to have a go