HR Advisor Review

I spent my placement working in the HR Operations team based in Stockport and very much enjoyed the variety of work and opportunities available within the British Gas business. I had the opportunity to work on 3 wide ranging projects whilst also gaining a better insight into HR operations within a large firm. I gained an appreciation of the variety of opportunities available within HR within a large organisation.

I appreciate the support offered by the team and the managers; who often went out of their way to include me in the projects they were involved in. I feel my contribution to the team was appreciated and that the work I carried out met real business needs and requirements. I feel I have gained a valuable network of HR professional contacts which I can now utilise throughout my future HR career.

The HR Business Partner I reported to was very supportive throughout the placement; and encouraged me to gain experience in different HR areas including TU engagement, employee relations, absense management which were outside the scope of my main projects. I also appreciate the opportunities that were made available to work with senior staff and contribute to high level projects throughout the time on my placement.

I had a constant flow of workload throughout the placement given the timescales of the projects I was working on. I had sufficient time to manage and complete my projects; whilst also being able to get involved with the wider activities of the placement like the HR development day, additional site visits and training opportunities provided.

I was given allot of responsibility during this placement. One of the projects I was working on involved a confidential element and I was trusted to work on such high level projects which reported directly to the HR director. I appreciate the trust and confidence the team showed when involving me in such projects.

I feel the skills gained whilst carrying out this placement have confirmed that HR is the area I wish to work within on completion of my MSc. The placement had provided me with the opportunity to gain a broader set of knowledge regarding HR principles, including employment law which will help when I return to university.

The Stockport office is open planned and has a very collaborative work culture. I was often encouraged to work alongside different teams in the office to broaden my knowledge of business operations including working with the dispatch, planning and reward teams to better clarify their HR requirements.

The summer placement was well coordinated and managed well throughout by a central team in the Windsor office. Prior to joining the team the recruitment team assisted my line manager in creating a structure and objectives that I was able to work towards throughout. The placement also mixed gaining real workplace experience in HR with gaining additional soft skills through training events such as presentation skills which I appreciated.

Centrica invests a lot of time and capital in its summer placement programme through organising a number of training days and encouraging those on the programme to get involved in as much as they can across the business. I am satisfied with the level of investment made by the team in managing the programme.

Within HR there will be many future career opportunities available going forward and I am confident that if offered a place on next years graduate programme I would be able to work on a variety of wide ranging and challenging placements. I feel Centrica is able to offer long term career opportunities towards senior management positions to those that join at entry level.

I was located in Manchester and the social aspects of the programme with my fellow summer placements were less pronounced than those available within the main head office given the smaller number of placements available in this area. However I still appreciated the opportunity to socialise with my team and the 2 HR graduates in this office.

The cost of living in Manchester is lower than London for rental costs and transport; but other costs such as the costs of going out to restaurants and for drinks are the same as in London. The cost of living in Manchester is similar to the cost of living in Glasgow or Edinburgh.

I was lucky to have a good group of friends currently living in Manchester and was able to enjoy the variety of nightlife available in the city. I appreciated the opportunity to join the HR graduates from previous years on nights out in Manchester; as well as join my team at regular social events in the city and in Stockport.

There were opportunities to get involved in charity projects outside as work as part of the programme; and opportunities to social with the HR team at regular pub quizzes.