Project Management Graduate Trainee (Summer Intern) Review

During the Project Management Internship I was involved in a variety of work and for the most part found this both interesting and enjoyable, there were times when I thought it better to take on routine work that was a little repetitious in order to help the team over a busy period, not because it added much to my own professional development. Such work is part of the Project Management role and I was actually able to automate part of the processes to save future effort - a challenge I particularly enjoyed, but perhaps there are some people that would not have found this aspect as interesting.

I felt like my efforts were appreciated; it was a busy period and there was opportunity to make a real contribution and demonstrate that I could work independently. But there was a steep learning curve, especially if, like me, you have not had much experience specific to Project Management. It's a hard balance to strike: taking on work that needs to be done ( a valuable contribution) and trying to experience as many aspects of Project Management as possible in such a limited time. Though the two are obviously not mutually exclusive.

I was supported by my manager(s) and encouraged to get involved in other project work. I was introduced to experienced colleagues and able to discuss aspects of Project Management both technical and practical. There was also some work that required me collaborate with other functions (Engineering and Commercial), I found it interesting and helpful to see the bigger picture - especially in deciding whether to apply a a Project Management role after the internship.

I was very busy, there were times when I was waiting for I.T. access which I used to learn some of the Project Management theory, but that I know would have been frustrating otherwise. Though I had plenty to do daily and in terms of my overall objectives for the placement, I never felt overwhelmed. Rolls-Royce has flexi-time and if you work over-time this is recognised and contributes towards a day in-lieu (the maximum time that could be taken in-lieu during the ten week contract).

I was responsible for the delivery of several pieces of work, in some cases I was given considerable autonomy and my competency was never questioned (though there was obviously more supervision required earlier in the internship). I think the internship was structured to encourage interns to take responsibility for at least one large task as Rolls-Royce required the interns to create objectives for their placement to be set from the start, part of a performance review at the end of the internship.

Part of my degree consists of extended research projects, sometimes working in a team. The experience I have gained, the skills in managing and the technical skills (for example planning) that I have developed will no doubt be very helpful for such research projects. Interns in all functions are required to do an end-of-attachment presentation - presenting and public speaking are not practised as part of my degree but I will need to be able to present my research/ideas in the future. Interns were also invited to the professional training run for those on the Graduate Programme, I attended a session on High Performance Culture that was very interesting.

For the first half of my placement there was another intern in my team, we got on well and everyone in the team was friendly. There was plenty of joking and a relaxed atmosphere, but there was no team socialising outside of work - perhaps because most of my colleagues had children and a family. I know other interns (mostly Engineers) that went to restaurants with the rest of the team, celebrated birthdays and such. However all the interns would have lunch together in the office and I got to know pretty much all the interns and year-placement students working on that site.

The internship was pretty well set-up, I was placed in a team/department with lots of work in which I could get involved, I think this is true for most of the interns to which I have spoken. There is a formal performance review at the end of the placement: mutually agreed objectives and an assessment of your performance against (corporate) competencies. There was also compulsory online training and interns were invited to training events/seminars run for the Graduate Programme. There was also a seminar on the Graduate Programme application process for interns return to Rolls-Royce, I thought this was very useful. At times it was frustrating having to wait for I.T. access which in most cases could have been sorted out prior to the start of the internship, this definitely applies to every new-starter. Rolls-Royce is a very large company and should have the resources to get new-starters working as quickly as possible. Having said that, I was able to extend my internship by a week upon presenting a valid business case and this process was made very easy.

As mentioned, Rolls-Royce made it easy to gain access to online training and also interns were invited to seminars run for the Graduate Programme. Some online training modules required the approval of your manager because there was an associated cost (to the department) but plenty of free training modules were available to every employee (including the use of software, problem solving etc.). Interns were involved in business trips to other sites across the country, for which Rolls-Royce paid the expenses, though this mostly applied to the more technical (Engineering) roles rather than the management roles. There were also HR Early Career Consultants that were a point of contact for interns wanting advice on applying for a job within Rolls-Royce and information about the various careers available. Overall Rolls-Royce did invest in training and support for Interns, but the extent of that support depended on the business area and your role.

I have applied for the Graduate Programme, there is another interview due to a greater than expected demand for places, but normally interns that perform well are offered a place on the Graduate Programme in the function in which they had their internship. In addition, if an intern wanted to apply for a place as a Graduate in another function they would not be required to complete all the stages of the original interview process. There is also the option of direct employment after an internship, if there is a vacancy in your team/department. Overall, Rolls-Royce encourage you to apply for the Graduate Programme/another internship with Rolls-Royce. There is a financial incentive for an intern to return as a Graduate.

I was living in the Derby University Halls of Residence with most of the Rolls-Royce summer interns and I think this contributed to a good social scene amongst fellow placement students. This allowed you to meet interns across different Business areas, though I did know the interns working on my site better as all the interns and year-placement students would meet up for lunch. As for socialising with colleagues, I did not personally see any permanent employees in my team outside of work though I know that this is not true for every intern (particularly Engineers).

The Derby Halls of Residence were quite expensive given the facilities, with 8 rooms per floor, shared kithcen and toilets and only one laundry room for the entire Halls. However the location was good, quite near the town centre where there are plenty of pubs with student appeal and there were supermarkets nearby (mostly Sainsbury's which is not as cheap as tescos etc.). As for the wider area and renting a property, from what I heard it was quite good value (with lots of property aimed at the student market, and therefore not too pricey).

Derby is known for the number of real-ale pubs but there's also a few clubs and plenty of bars as you would expect given the proximity of Derby University to the city centre. It was not too busy over the summer, with no students around but the interns living in the Halls of residence would normally go out into the city in large groups, and I know I had plenty of fun.

There are many gyms and sports clubs quite near to the office, though not all of them were that affordable. I would say your rather limited if you don't have a car, if you work on the main site you can walk to the leisure club that's nearby, there were company sports clubs that interns could join and that trained in local facilities. However, public transport links do not make it easy to get about. Of course the train station is very central and within walking distance of the Halls of Residence, from there you can get into the Peak District (normally via Sheffield). There is a bowling alley which was the venue for some the other team's work parties, and there is a cinema as well.