Information Technology Placement Student Review

My role as an IT placement student involves resolving technical issues around the plant. This could relate to laptops or desktops both in offices and on the production line. Some of the daily tasks include keeping track of the security indicators ensuring that all of our devices are properly secure online. In addition to this, security cameras are also checked on a daily basis in case there is an incident that needs to be looked in at more detail. The rest of my day isn't regimented so it is unknown what I will be doing each day, when a problem arises it is my job to go and fix it.

I didn't start the placement with much prior IT knowledge so everything I did here I was learning along the way. You are treated as a valued employee so you are given 'proper' jobs to complete. I was also given the opportunity to take part in Microsoft courses which include a range of things such as Azure, Data Analytics, Cloud Services and many more. You can decide which ones you want to take part in. These courses usually cost around £60 however, they are funded by the company so you can complete as many as you want for free.

You are given a lot of responsibility despite being a student. I was given the opportunity to be put forward to learn about a new system which was being implemented and then teach the rest of my team and plant. I was often interacting with the rest of the plant so whenever employees see you they would stop you and ask questions, so a 5min walk to help one person can turn into a 30min walk helping multiple people.

In the first two weeks of my placement there was a handover period where the previous student would teach me as much as they could about the role so that when they left I was more comfortable. After the previous student had left, my manager and colleague would assist me with tasks and then I eventually went to complete tasks by myself. When assisting people with their problems, they are very understanding that you are a student and are learning.

The atmosphere at work is very lively, everyone is friendly and will always interact with you whenever you see them. The students collectively would go out outside of work in the local area which enabled us to get to know each other more. At work, it is the students role to host events to raise money for a chosen charity. This year we completed events such as a half marathon, bake sale, guess the baby photo and a few more.

All in all, this placement year at Faurecia has supplemented my knowledge within the IT realm which will be beneficial for me as it will add versatility and uniqueness to my CV. I feel as though I have learnt a lot more during my placement year than I ever did in my first two years at university. The IT team at Banbury were great to work with and they supported me throughout the whole year.

Yes

I would recommend applying for the IT placement, even if it isn't exactly what you want to do in the future, the experience itself is worth so much more. The skills you learn aren't super specific so you can transfer them to a lot of different roles. Working in the automotive industry gives you a huge advantage against other candidates as it is a very demanding environment and future employees will know this.