Training and Development Program Specialist Review

It was a great experience with a lot of lessons learnt- proved to be challenging sometimes but it helped me develop personally and professionally. I acquired a balanced amound of knowledge skills and behaivours and most importanly- I improved and enhanced my transferable skills- it was an excellent year!

Throughout the year I was provided with constructive, valuable feedback- it felt good to know that my efforts were observed and there was an interest in providing me with feedback. I felt my work was valued and my development was taken care of.

My manager offered great support and guidance. He was my mentor and taught me a lot of things both on a personal and a professional plan. He took an active approach towards my development, supported me in my job tasks and volunteering activities, advised and provided feedback.

Because of my enthusiasm to get involved with a lot of things and to learn as much as possible, I took extra activities such as volunteering projects. Because of them, I had to split most of the time between my daily job tasks and the volunteering activities and at times my schedule was a bit tight and busy- however, I managed even though it cost me time- but it was all worth it, the experience gained it worth every single extra hour that I had to put in. I never was towards the other end (boredom)- my tasks were well planned and organised so that everyday would be a useful experience.

In my opinion, I was given a good amount of responsibility- I had to work many times without supervision, even in the second month of my placement- I believe I demontrated maturity and ability to focus and balance things before taking the decisions which helped me gain my manager's trust pretty quickly since I was left on my own after only 7 weeks in the company. I had the chance of leading different projects and was allowed to make my own decisions up to a certain extent provided I had a good reasoning behind my choice- this was very helpful for me to enhance my decision making skills- it was a really good experience to feel both managed and autonomous to some extent.

The skills are developed and the ones I improved and enhanced during my placement year are what I like to call TRANSFERABLE SKILLS- besides the knowledge gained about the field, all the activities and tasks, projects and procedures undertaken during my placement year helped me work on some very useful skills that can be applied in any job and can be transferred across a multitude of tasks/projects.

The general atmosphere was really good- Cummins is really great to understand diversity and understand the importance of interpersonal skills. There were some times when everybody was so busy that we did not have too much time to joke around and we just focused on work, however it was never a case of tension or unwelcoming atmosphere. It was always comfortable and fun.

The placement was very well organised- I had a proper induction, internal training, introduction to my job and my tasks and was explained what was going to happen next, the steps I had to take. I was provided with job-related tasks as well as projects that helped me develop on different levels.

The company had a really good structure for training- the core training was delivered on time, there were 5 more courses that were included as part of our development and to help us accomodate to the business environment. Also, the company offered a wide collection of online coureses that were free and were certified.

Cummins offers a lot of Graduate Schemes and the company really invests in the graduates and gives them the chance for development. If you do a good job and prove yourself during the placement year there is a very good chance to come back and work for them as a graduate. I met a lot of graduates that had previously been placement students with the company

The social interaction was good to a certain extent. There were tensions as well, as it is normal to happen in any group, but throughout the year we formed a really good group as placements and supported each other.

The costs were a bit higher than what I was used to, but then again Ramsgate and Thanet in general is not a university area, hence there is no accommodation for students and the renting prices go up a little. In terms of food or going out- I didn't find it too different from what I was used to.

For me personally it was good, but I know many people do not consider it that way- I guess it's very subjective. I prefer live concerts and fun pubs rather than night clubs- so from that point of view I had a lot of places where I could go and listen to a live band, have a beer with friends and just socialise until the morning.

All you need to do is ask- I did. I go involved in volunteering- both with children and with the elderly, I had the chance of playing different sport (badminton, tennis, squash, swimming), did charity work, played paintball- and I'm sure if you have other interests you will find a chance to find them.