Year In Industry Placement - Major Projects and Improvements Review

I assisted (and towards the second half of the placement, took lead on) highways improvement projects, ranging from small signing and lining schemes to large scale improvement projects. Day to day activities included; - Design work on AutoCAD or Civils 3D - Liaising with external and internal clients and members of the public. - Liaising with members of other teams throughout the rest of the company. - Completing required documentation, such as Risk assessments - Site visits

- I have developed my AutoCAD skills a lot since the start of my placement, improving upon the basics learned at university. - I have learnt how to use new software such as Civil 3D, Microsoft projects, KeyLines, KeyPost, and KeySign - I have learnt how to conduct site visits to ensure I gather all the required information - I am now able to chair meetings more confidently with clients and other members of staff.

Throughout the placement, the amount of responsibility given to me was increased, starting with assisting others with work and undertaking small schemes, to leading on medium sized schemes. Towards the end of the placement, I was working on a very large scheme alongside the rest of the design team, in which I was trusted to work mostly independently with some oversight from senior engineers.

I received regular invites to training and CPD events, both in-person and webinars. Everyone within my team and other teams was willing to help with any questions I had, providing detailed answers and support for anything I needed throughout my placement.

I would say that the office environment was quite positive, and while everyone did get on with their work, there was no stigma around chatting as you did. Everyone got on well with each other and I have had no issues with anyone I have had contact with.

I have enjoyed my placement and enjoyed working with the people I was working with. It was a great opportunity to gain work experience in many different aspects relevant to my degree.

Yes

With your CV, focus on the skills that you have learnt that are relevant to the role you are applying for, take a copy of your CV with you to the interview and maybe some notes of anything you feel you may need to talk about during the interview as I was allowed to have the notes I made on the table for the interview.