Industrial Trainee Review

The 15 months working at Arup were extremely valuable and gave a great insight in Bridge, Rail, Highways and Structural Engineering disciplines. I worked on a variety of projects, large and small scale, all at different stages which resulted in a very informative and eye-opening placement.

The staff, including both senior and junior members, were all extremely welcoming and really made me feel part of the team. I also became involved in social, sports clubs which were run by the company.

The support provided during the placement was brilliant. As well as being provided with a placement supervisor within the company, I was given a formal appraisal at two points during the placement which would be the same as any permanent members of staff.

I was given plenty of work during the placement. As I became more involved with projects I was provided with more work and responsibility. I felt that I became valuable on project teams.

The work has been challenging but exciting and I appreciate the level of trust from the two teams to allow me to complete design calculations and use the structural analysis software to help with projects. This has really improved my skills in understanding how to use the Eurocodes/British Standards and applying them to different types of structures.

In Cardiff, the placement had already developed my skills in using engineering software such as Microstation, Autocad, GSA, Adsec and Tedds whilst also improving my skills in using Microsoft Office for the preparation and presentation of spreadsheets and reports. This then broadened in Bristol where I used additional software such as: Orion, Navisworks, Rhino, RAPT, Grasshopper, Revit, Tedds, Compos, Cellbeam, Adbeam and Bluebeam Revu. During the placement, I have also developed an extensive vocabulary of both rail, bridge and building terms that I hope will assist with University modules upon my return.

The office environment was relaxed and chilled and their was a great social atmosphere on a daily basis. The staff were friendly and hard-working.

During the placement, I worked within the Highways and Bridges department within the Cardiff office following a summer placement in 2012. The final four months of the placement were spent with the Structures (Buildings) team in the Bristol. This allowed some variation within the placement with regards to office/team and also projects and tasks. There was an initial plan to have five, three month placement in different department. However, because of the variety of work anyway this was disregarded.

The company encouraged me to go on training days to develop my knowledge of industry and evolving technologies. We also set personal targets at the beginning of the placement and review my progress throughout the year.

The company have expressed an interest in returning to them once I have graduated. They have also offered future summer placements during the final two of study.

There were three other placement students within the Cardiff office, allowing for social activities outside of work as well as support from other students at work.

Cardiff was a cheap, student-filled destination and the rent was approx. £300 per month including bills.

Cardiff is a student city and has a great social nightlife.

Through people at work, including the other placement students, I was introduced to different activities across the city to get involved with during my placement.