Project Support Review

My placement was very rewarding, i learnt a great deal about the automotive industry and myself as a person.

I felt that i was extremely valued, never feeling that i was a 'student'.

My manager was fantastic in terms of personal development, he got more out of me than i could have got out of myself and really pushed me to always be achieving more.

I was incredibly busy, which was great - the time flew by!

I was given a great deal of responsibility, gaining exposure across the business and having engagement with senior management. I was given a number of personal projects to work on, which i managed and delivered entirely on my own.

The skills i learnt were very transferable to my final year at university, especially around planning my time and days to be more effective.

The general atmosphere was good, everyone was very positive, friendly and willing to help whenever needed. However, it was very corporate - but that was to be expected.

Generally, the placement was very well organised, but there could be improvements made to help have an accelerated learning process in our first few months - i.e. learning how all key internal how functions operate. I also believe that the placement year should be treated as a 'scheme' and there should be more opportunities for cross-business projects.

The firm invested well in developing my technical skills. There are formal training courses to attend.

For external candidates, the process of recruitment for the Graduate Scheme is 1) Pre-Screening 2) Telephone Interview 3) Assessment Centre. After completing a year’s placement you are offered a 'Golden Ticket', which gives you the chance to skip stage 1) & 2) of the recruitment process and go straight to stage 3) (The Assessment Centre), with external candidates once you've finished your year’s placement. I believe that this process is fair; however, i would have liked the opportunity to secure an offer to return before i left the organisation. I also question whether it values a high performance over the year's placement and whether this process benefits VWG as it runs the risk of not nurturing the highest performing individuals and offering them a guaranteed route back in.

The social scene was good, however, we were here to do a job and not to be students - something which is easily overlooked when coming into your first corporate environment.

The cost of living in Milton Keynes was acceptable.

The nightlife in Milton Keynes was okay, however, it wasn't far from London on the train which made it even better!

Yes, regular opportunities to partake in football/exercise classes etc.