Industral Placement Student Review

From my role I was unsure of what to expect, the job role I was given was very vague. However once here I settled into my role well and enjoyed what I did on a day to day basis.

Everyone within the company doesn’t make placement students feel like outsiders. We were included in everything the team did and felt like the work I was given to do was contributing to the company.

My manager for my role wasn't very supportive at the start of my placement, I feel this was due the changes happing around the company internally however my role got split between two managers and this was an improvement as my second manager was very supportive of the work I was given to do, and ensuring that I could make the most out of my placement at GSK.

At the start of my placement my work load was very light, often not being left with a lot of work to do, even when asking to take on more. However once my role was split onto a project team work load varied from day to day. Often being very busy getting involved in the project work while still having enough time to ensure my work load from my original role was getting done.

Within the project team I was given a so much responsibility allowing me to engage with customer around different parts of the organisation.

My skill set was developed immensely throughout the year and I feel from my year out I have learnt skills which I can transfer with me back to university and into whatever job I choose to pursuit after.

GSK operate a hot desk system throughout which means the atmosphere in the office is different daily due to the amount of people which sit around you. It gives you a chance to interact with people you may not have been able to get to know otherwise. The main atmosphere was a casual one with conversations following and a constant wave of people around

Overall my placement felt disorganised with the boundaries constantly changing but it was able to adapt to the changing needs of the business.

The company offered training at every given opportunity for my placement. They send me on a full days training course at different sites and offer a lot of internal training from their systems. The training was always useful and you were encouraged to go out and grab training if there was something you were interested in.

Future employment within the company are well advertised to placement students and they offer good prospects if students which to return. It is a comfortable place to work with a good environment.

There was an internal industrial placement scheme offered run by other placement students, this often felt disorganised and pushed aside. They tried to offer events but they always seemed a little pricey and not was to get to if you weren't living in London.

I lived at home, however prices around Brendford were no that bad. However London, well it's London prices!

N/A - Lived at home.

There were a few activities organised by my department but they were often late night events and weren't very often.