CTT Industrial Engineering Placement Review

Depending on department, I would meet with manager to discuss new work & progress once a week (manager dependant) , and typically be involved in 1 or 2 project calls per day. Spend a portion of the day (varied day to day from 3hrs to all day) on completing tasks, if onsite I would often get the opportunity to accompany colleague to shop/lab floor to speak to technician.

Skills Learned: - Clear communication in technical areas (verbal and using Ppt or similar) - Data processing & presentation - Time management, task prioritisation & estimating completion times. - Professionalism & conduct - able to be upfront if I require support or need something changed & can communicate appropriately for the situation

My initial responsibilities were minor (data processing etc) but soon was given failure investigations that had to be resolved & presented to more senior colleagues in a restricted timeframe. My later responsibilities were more significant, such as completing work on a development project within the materials dept, while coordinating meetings with external experts, setting time-limited work expected of them and contributing suggestions to the direction of the project.

- Fortnightly 'roundtables' with all fellow placement students & the placement coordinator. - Regular 1-1 meetings with Line manager (2/3 of my managers did this) to discuss work & personal needs. - Department 'welcome' meetings to provide contacts to assist with work. - Several training meetings/calls for company specific systems & software

Overall very welcoming, professional but not overly formal. Very tolerant of flexible working & personal requirements. Understanding of situation of placements (lack of experience) and helpful in training placements in aspects of working life.

Overall, I had a very enjoyable placement that was both challenging and interesting. I enjoyed the variation of departments and colleagues and I found areas of engineering I had not previously considered a career in. I also found areas of work I did not find as interesting, and did not feel as stretched in - possibly due to receiving less direct support & work from my manager, and working in a less collaborative environment.

Yes

When ranking preferences, consider the more challenging areas of work (typically more technical & forward thinking areas) Consider your commute and communicate this to CTT when applying/ your manager when working, as some rotations may suit hybrid/remote better than others.