Industrial Trainee Review

As a highway engineer my role may vary from day to day. The general process is that I am given an asset (normally multiple) and am expected to complete all the requirements necessary for the asset to be ready for checking and then pushed out to be shared amongst other disciplines. These requirements will commonly consist of modelling, safety assessments and small reports documenting the assets.

My placement year has allowed me to strongly develop my communication and co-ordination skills. As I have spent a lot of time on the phone with engineers in separate disciplines to try and come up with the most efficient designs for the project. My role has also required me to problem solve in ways which I didn't need to before which has been incredible beneficial.

My responsibility during my time at Mott has increased incrementally with time, allowing me to always feel challenged but never overwhelmed. I started off helping another engineer with his assets, and by the end I was in charge of multiple assets and was helping other new starters in the team adjust to theirs.

Mott Macdonald start off by giving you hours worth of training videos so you understand the work environment and culture. After this, in my case there were more personalised training videos for the software I would be using. Aside from that I was also provided a buddy and a line manager who were very helpful for my settling in. Overall, all staff members were very helpful if I had any questions.

The Mott Macdonald company culture champions safety and wellbeing. The company has it's own values which are heavily highlighted in all of their training videos and around their offices. My experience with the atmosphere was mostly positive, whilst everyone in the office is respectful and generally hardworking, it is encouraged to speak amongst peers, whether work related or not, which was very good as it prevented the office from felling like a library.

I've had quite a good time on my placement so far. Everyone has always been quite welcoming to me and helpful whenever I needed assistance, whether I required help in work things, university assignments or else. The work culture is definitely a selling point for Mott Macdonald which I really appreciated.

Yes

When working at Mott Macdonald, ensure you utilise all the connections and opportunities which are provided by the company. I feel like Mott Macdonald will encourage you to do this anyway, however try and maximise your time at the company. You will most likely be surrounded by far more experienced and highly qualified engineers, so it is good to learn about them and how their career paths went.