Industrial Placement Review
by Network Rail
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.5
-
The Company
4.7
-
The Culture
4.1
- 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 thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at Network Rail and very worthwhile as I have built up my confidence and developed relevant work experience to my degree scheme.
I was made to feel very valued by my colleagues and truly felt like part of the team.
Colleagues were very supportive and always willing to listen to any concerns that I had and find a resolution. Practice management very supportive and very focused on personal development.
At almost all times I had a sufficient amount of work to be getting on with across a number of projects. During periods of large workloads, my manager always made sure that I was coping.
I was highly satisfied with the level of responsibility I was given during my placement, being involved in a number of very high level projects.
I will be able to take away and incorporate a huge number of soft skills, written report skills and project management skills into my degree and further into my career.
The Company
Was a very open atmosphere; I found that most people were very approachable when I needed more information for a project or assistance for something. Good amount of informal chat so that I was able to get to know my teams better.
Very well organised, had opportunities to find out more about how Network Rail operates as a business, a number of very useful personal development workshops. Never had any issues with any HR / payment related issues.
A large number of personal development workshops and opportunity to suggest areas that we would like to develop in and have workshops set up by practice management to cater for this.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Travel loan
I have been given a conditional graduate offer based on 2:1 qualification in degree.
The Culture
The majority of placements lived a fair distance away from Milton Keynes so was difficult to arrange occasionally in terms of logistics.
I found that Milton Keynes was similarly priced in terms of living and socialising costs to where my uni is based (Aberystwyth); this was reasonable and due to close proximity of flat near office, very convenient as well. As the salary on the placement was so generous, I have been able to save a significant amount to go towards studying for my final year.
Plenty of restaurants, bars and clubs in Central Milton Keynes and very easy to travel to London from MK.
Yes, Network Rail has a sports and social club featuring a wide variety of activities to get involved in outside of work.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Management, Information Technology
South West
November 2014
