Engineering / Operations Intern Review

I spent time at 2 different Cooper sites which gave me the chance to experience a range of departments, bother operations and engineering design based. I enjoyed both sites and have decided to come back on the Graduate scheme as I enjoyed it so much.

Obviously early on I had to prove myself to my colleagues, but once I had shown I was hard working and successful in my projects, I was given more and more responsibility, taking charge of an area on the shop floor and managing customer orders. On top of this, the graduate and intern community across the country was a highlight, as it helped me settle in much quicker.

Regular meetings with my line manager, site HR and head office HR meant I had constant contact with many different people. All the interns and graduates are well looked after. Across both sites I worked, everyone was always willing to help and support the interns/graduates and although we were given much responsility, there was always someone to help if things went wrong.

The level of work differed between sites and the time of year. Although my year started with little work, once I had settled in and proved I could handle big projects, my work load increased to the level I expected. Obviously, some days were more busy than others, but on the whole I was always kept busy doing something.

The level of responsibility was probably the best part of the placement for me, by leading projects, and often leading other members of staff, I feel I made an impact on the business. I led projects to change the way manufacturing occured and altered the layout of the shop floor on my projects, which was something I didn't think I would be personally responsible for before I began my placement.

Although this wasn't directly related to my degree, I have now decided this is the route I want to follow. I was given the chance to work across many departments (operations, design, finance, testing and supply-chain) which meant I gain valuable experience in a range of areas that will help me in my final year at university and in my future at Cooper Industries.

My 2nd site was a much more enjoyable place, due to more opportunities to mix between departments. On top of this, the intern/graduate community helps to ensure nothing gets too boring.

We were lucky enough to have a full-time HR lady at head office who was in charge of us, but we also had weekly meetings with our line managers and regular catch-ups with on-site HR meaning everything was managed very well. Also, the projects were laid out in a document at the start of the year meaning I knew what I would be doing throughout my year.

We had 4 training sessions throughout the year, both with internal (including a Finance Director and one Managing Director) and external trainers. We were also given training on-site that was more related to our individual roles. The scheme is aiming to have the interns return as graduates, so they want to build your skills to help you in the long term.

Most of the interns this year will be returning on the graudtae scheme after university, with a bursary as a reward.

There were 16 interns and over 20 graduates across the many sites in UK (but a few in Europe), which meant there was a lot of chance to mix.

As the sites are normally in industrial areas, there are normally many cheap places to live within driving distance.

This depends on where you are, but my first site was quite quiet but then I moved to near where my university is, so it improved.

Again this differed between sites, but there are some opportunties for weekly football games or something.