Buyer: Strategic Purchasing Review

Though times where sometimes difficult (mainly because of the recession) and development was not always available to me due to a constant 'fire-fighting' situation, I thoroughly enjoyed my time on my placement, and learnt so much valuable information and gained extremely invaluable experience.

I felt highly regarded by my colleagues, as I was treated like a buyer and not like a student. It gave me a great feeling when I was asked for advice, especially from people that had been in business or in my specific field far longer.

The support was adequate, but I'm sure it would have been much better had we not been right in the middle of the recession and in a position where workloads completely outweighed resources. In a way I believe I have gained from this, as I had to learn the job 'from the bottom up' which I think has given me a much deeper knowledge.

This varied dramatically. When there was little training at the beginning and I could only do a few things on my own, this became tedious at times. Then as I acquired the skills to enable me to do more tasks, it got much busier. Somedays you would not have time to think with every problem you solved being replaced by two new ones. Other days were slow. It depended very much on the running of the business and what occured during the day.

I was given a great deal of responsibility and freedom during my placement, as I could pratical pick and chose what I wanted to do and when, as long as I completed it in a reasonable amount of time. I had almost complete control over the company's vendor managed inventory system, making all the decisions and solving the day-to-day problems. I also resourced one of the supppliers that I found to be severely overcharging us through use of e-sourcing, and made a relative saving of £20,000. It gave me a great sense of achievement to have made this kind of impact on the business.

I have only been back in university for a short while and already my level of understanding has increased drastically. Rather than having to learn what the lecturer is saying, I find myself agreeing with them. i believe that the placement could not have put me in a better position ready for my final year of my degree and hopeful employment after that.

I was very surprised at the nature of the office atmosphere, very relaxed, good conversations and fun times whilst working.

As the job was covering maternity leave rather than a specifically set up student placement, it was more like a permanent job. Being 'thrown in the deep end' like this benefited me greatly. Unfortunately due to resource constraints organisation of the role couldn't properly be thought through.

The company did view me as a permanent worker rather than just someone who will leave after a year. They did spend what time they had on answering my constant questions and furthering my knowledge. They also invested in me by paying for my annual subscription for my professional institute CIPS.

If once I finish my degree I am asked to return I would, but I would also like to experience other companies in order to compare. For now I am focusing on my degree and keeping my options open.

There were no other placement students in the company, and I was one of the youngest workers there. But I would say that the people there was the main reason I enjoyed my placement so much, as they were very friendly and fun to be around.

Unfortunately I lived 30 minutes (on a good day) away from my job, so the cost of travelling was quite high. Socialising was also difficult due to the locations in which everyone lived. Sadly the company did not organise any Christmas parties etc.

I think there is very little nightlife in Cwmbran, South Wales!

No known opportunities to do things outside work.