Electrical Engineering Industrial Placement Student Review

I contribute to ensuring safety standards and maintenance regulations are met, as well as replacing or upgrading systems through commissioning or plant modifications. I organize test sheets so the electricians can carry out their maintenance work, and use software to download and upload tests on tablets. With commissioning, I help with the testing and troubleshooting required to get a system into working condition. Plant modifications are in the form of documents going over electrical changes.

Hard skills learned/improved include: Technical writing through plant modifications, understanding of health and safety regulations, SAP, Excel and Power BI (from a side project, but is widely used on site). Soft skills improved include confidence and communication when working with others to achieve a common goal, as well as problem solving, critical thinking, time management and more.

Very much so. Being given high responsibility tasks were more on an inconsistent basis but they did happen in certain situations. For example, when an air handling unit motor electrically failed, causing a production stop in its associated building, I was given the responsibility to write the plant modification to get it replaced. Other, more consistent responsibilities include organizing the software and test sheets for maintenance work.

Support and guidance was fine. I had a good team around me and he company had a buddy system in place. Also had an industrial placement lead on site for extra support and development, however there was no mentor system.

It was more relaxed than I was expecting which was a pleasant surprise. Other than that everyone really did take health and safety seriously and had it at the forefront of their decision making. The general atmosphere was good also, nearly everyone on the site are really nice and happy to help.

I overall enjoyed my placement. It was my first time working on an industrial site and so was really eye opening and I learned a lot from it. The work was, although not the most thrilling all the time as it never is, was always contributing to the site and had a visible impact, making the experience more enjoyable and fulfilling as a result.

Yes

Understand the core GSK values well. Research the company before any assessment centers or interview processes, not just for trivia, but to become more enthusiasm about having the prospect of working for GSK and have that enthusiasm shine through throughout the application process.