Industrial Placement Student Review

Great company to work for with a laid back yet highly professional atmosphere. Although I was pushed in certain areas there is a lot of independence and emphasis on YOU to build networks, volunteer for work and get involved in projects which are of interest to you. Therefore there is a certain degree of freedom for you to identify which competencies you would like to build and work with your line manager to develop them. Thus you will end up with industry relevant experience and a lot of transferable skills. There is also a great scope for travel as the company assets span the entire country. I was able to relocate three times during my placement in order to take full advantage of all opportunities.

Everyone is very happy to help and for such a large company it rapidly begins to feel very small as you get to know more and more people. Working at head office in Warwick you quickly get to be on a first name basis with department directors and well respected industry professionals. Even the CEO, Steve Holliday, offered 1:1 interview opportunities with placement students...where else in the world would you get that?!

Weekly 1:1 meetings with your line manager give you steer on your projects and keep you on your toes with deadlines as you develop you business skills. Even managers and specialists from other departments are happy to set time aside for meetings or telephone calls to help with projects. Although you certainly will have never encountered this type of work before you will always have support on hand to deliver on your objectives.

The cliched saying that "you get out what you put in" couldn't be more true...you'll be as busy as you allow yourself to be, however depending on your department you may be required to work extra hours in the office. Some of my friends working in the finance department for example were often required to work late during month end to get organized for pay day etc.

My placement started slowly but quickly gathered pace. If you perform well on the simple tasks you'll be given more complex work. It's all about showing your line manager what you can do and by sticking your neck out and being successful you'll get rewarded with more respect and more interesting work. I wouldn't assume you'll be responsible for million pound projects though.

It was my first taste of professional life and thus it will stick with me for a very long time. It gives you the confidence to know that you can perform within a business (any business)...the simple things such as organizing meetings, making presentations and writing papers seem daunting at first but knowing that you can cope with it is half the battle. Most importantly I now understand what is required of a process engineer on a daily basis...in short...it's not that difficult (challenging yes) and it's definitely something I'd enjoy!!

As I said previously, expect a laid back yet professional atmosphere...everyone get's the job done however there's always room for banter! You wont find anyone breaking down in the toilets or looking bored out of their minds!!

The placement wasn't organized to the point where it was written in stone. There is a lot of freedom to explore different areas/aspects of the business. And if you do want to relocate you will get the support and advice you need from a variety of sources to locate accommodation etc.

Quite a lot! You will get professional support through courses, site visits and team building/networking events. You will also get paid expenses if you are required to travel between sites etc which will cover your hotel, food and mileage expenses.

Within my placement year I was successful in achieving sponsorship for my final year resulting in £2,200 and was also successful in securing a place on the graduate development programme.

Good social atmosphere. National Grid take on a lot of placement students from around the country and thus you will easily find some people to share a flat/house with. With the sites located across the country, e.g. London, Glasgow, Birmingham etc you're sure to be located close to somewhere with a good nightlife.

Just as expensive as everywhere else really. Although as you will be working 5 days a week you will probably kiss goodbye to cheap £20 student nights out and instead grow to love the £60 - £70 weekend partying bill!!

Love Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester! Some of the best nights you'll have. Head office is in Warwick though so Cov and Leamington are your watering holes...they're the Marmite of nightlife!

With gyms and sports clubs like 5-a-side and sailing etc you won't be stuck.