Summer Placement Student Review
by Costain
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.3
-
The Company
4.3
-
The Culture
3.0
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I really enjoyed my placement. Everyone on the site was very friendly and always willing to help and answer any questions I had.
My line manager and buddy were very appreciative of my work and spent a lot of time with me but I didn't have the opportunity to work with many other people.
My buddy and line manager were both very supportive and provided me with all the guidance and support I needed.
I always had plenty to do but didn't feel like I was struggling to keep up with everything. At the beginning of my placement I wasn't given many tasks to do but I always had something to keep me occupied.
During the placement I wrote permits for work on site and had the opportunity to supervise some minor works but all was with the supervision of my buddy to the safety critical nature of the work.
The skills I learnt will be useful when doing my masters next year and will be invaluable if I pursue a career in construction.
The Company
Everyone was very friendly and easy to talk to. There were various charity events held to allow more opportunities to socialise and also plenty of team pub visits after work.
Once I'd arrived at site everything was well organised and they had clearly put a lot of effort into planning my placement. However, the process before I started working was not quite as organised due to miscommunication regarding my start and finish dates.
I had the opportunity to go on a week long lean construction course which was very beneficial and allowed me to work with more members of the team. My line manager was very supportive in providing opportunities for me to develop more.
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Travel loan
My line manager is very keen for me to return to Costain and has said he will recommend they sponsor me for my final year and put me forward for the graduate scheme. However I will still need to attend an assessment centre before I can be given a job offer.
The Culture
Most weeks there was a social event organised due to someone leaving or just for team socialisation. There was also a site football team and a table tennis table for people tob use at lunch time. It would have been good to have more social events with other placement students though.
I lived and worked in London which is very expensive but I was given an accommodation and travel allowance which covered the costs.
London has a great night life and there is loads to do but it is expensive compared to other student towns and cities.
They had a company funded football team but I don't play football so it didn't appeal to me. Other than going for drinks after work there weren't many other activities.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
August 2014
