Environment, Health and Safety Placement Student Review

As an Environment, Health and Safety Placement student, I was responsible for addressing safety concerns across the manufacturing environment, particularly with the teams I was designated safety focal for. Additionally, I worked on longer-term projects to improve long-term health and comfortability of employees and conducted chemical risk assessments for new chemicals/processes. On the environmental side, I partially looked after our environmental permits and hazardous waste on-site.

I learned a number of both hard and soft skills during my placement. I found soft skill management to be much different to how I conducted this at university. I better learned how to manage group-projects in the workplace and manage my own time at work (when to conduct various pieces of work, around commitments to different projects). Additionally, my proficiency in Microsoft Excel improved this year as I needed to optimise data sets for repeated use. I learned how to conduct risk assessments, including Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) assessments, and apply Health and Safety Executive resources. I was sent on both external and internal courses to improve both my subject-specific knowledge and general practice in a working environment.

At the start, I was eased into the placement. While I was given some responsibility to start with, it was a small amount so I could get my bearings. By a few months in, I was given much more responsibility. I was treated like a full-time employee, not just an intern.

I received plenty of support from various teams. However, they also at points made sure to not give me too much (when appropriate) so I was able to develop my problem-solving skills further and get out into the manufacturing environment and network with the appropriate people.

I was pleasantly surprised by how positive of a working environment there was at the company. The people there were fantastic and made coming to work a joy.

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement. The work was varied, interesting and meaningful. The people there were incredibly supportive and we received plenty of opportunities to develop and learn.

Yes

Learn as much as you can about the company before the interview and be prepared to address a wide variety of tasks.