Year in Industry Project Management Review

I really enjoyed my placement, for me it really was the best job ever. If anyone is considering a placement I would recommend TfL, I genuinely cannot fault the scheme. Should you find yourself yourself doing something you're no longer happy to do the company is so big you can just request to move to another project. So there really isn't a reason why anyone wouldn't enjoy the placement.

I was a valued member of staff and colleagues made that known to me, never once was I treated like a typical intern or like admin. In fact being a placement student colleagues all wanted to impart knowledge, with some members trying to persuade me to pursue a career in their fields (e.g engineering, planning, commercial management etc.). This was especially useful as I got a good insight into a number of different careers.

On the scheme I had the following: Sponsor - A sponsor is someone in a senior position who is very much focused on the development of Year in Industry students/ Graduates. I saw him twice a month over coffee and sometimes food (his treat each time) and we discussed my development and any concerns I had. He was effectively my mentor and his support alone would have been sufficient. Placement Manager - My managers were (Senior) Project Managers who gave me industry relevant support and guidance, they were effectively people I met every day and helped me work with them . Buddy - Gave me the ins and outs of the scheme, explaining where would be good for me to go from an

I had a good balance, work came in waves. On the quieter days I either went on training or worked on my university work, which was great as the company offered support for projects/dissertations students may choose to do.

This varied between my two placements. I was given much more responsibility than I expected. The Transport for London Year in Industry is exactly the same as the first year of the graduate scheme. Which essentially meant I was given the same amount of responsibility as graduates. My managers were very focused on me getting the most out of my year which meant I was given work that they felt would deveop my skills as such I didn't once have to make coffee, copy documents or take minutes in my whole placement.

TfL sent me on over 10 courses which I think as a Year in Industry is exceptional. Three of these courses have put me in good stead for university ('Presentation Skills', 'Planning and Organising' and 'Report Writing'). As for beyond the other courses have been invaluable, I was able to critically analyse myself and work on my self development. Regarding industry skills I have recieved training in both Primavera and Microsoft Project (industry wide planning software), I have had experience in the rail industry as well as the construction industry.

The atmosphere was fantastic. It was a professional atmosphere yet wasn't too corporate. There as a balance between professionalism and being social in the work place.

The placement followed the same structure as the Graduate Scheme. There was no way to tell me apart from the others, in fact if I wanted to I could have pretended to be a graduate.

The company invested much more than I expected and much more than friends at other companies. I went on a number of training courses and was encouraged to attend seminars and events to further my development. I also did my APM introductory certificate

Very appealing. You can leave TfL with a conditional job offer (the condition being you get a 2:1) which means you can spend your final year not having to worry about looking for a job. TfL really put in a lot of time and money into you as a placement student so it's only natural that they would want you to return as a graduate. The graduate scheme is really second to none with the opportunity to do further studies which further increases prospects as you progress.

In my team we spent most of our time socialising in work, over coffee, lunch and the odd meal outside of work. Though other teams would go out for weekly drinks and the graduates also arranged weekly drinks. This meant there was something for everyone. There was no pressure to do anything all together, so if you're not that sociable there's no need to worry about it.

With the exception of Canary Wharf all offices are very much Central London (though Canary Wharf is hardly known for being cheap as chips) as such the cost of living and socialising was more expensive than what I'm used to. That being said, it was quite easy to get to somewhere which was cheaper. Though I imagine that's typical for whoever works in Central London.

At Canary Wharf there seemed to be quite a lot going on after work, but that really wasn't for me. I went out for meals some of which went on quite late aside from that the "Nightlife" wasn't for me. Again from what I know at other offices the story seemed to be the same, there was a lot going on.

There were Skiing trips and other such opportunities as well as the usual drink after work. However I did neither, what I really liked about the company is there was no stigma attached to those who didn't get involved in activites out of work. So it really is your choice.