IT Workplace Solutions Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year working as part of the BMW Group. I was working for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars at their headquarters in Chichester. I encountered all areas of the company and it greatly increased my knowledge and experience of working within a worldwide company.

I felt even from my first day of my placement year I was welcomed into the IT team with open arms. I was taught everything I needed from the previous placement student during a month long handover period. Throughout the course of the year I was given more and more important projects and tasks to complete which impacted and benefited the company.

My placement mentor was very supportive throughout the year. We had weekly catch-ups to check my progress and whether I needed additional work so I was always kept busy. At any point I could ask for guidance from my mentor and he would always support me, which was also true for all of my colleagues.

I was always busy, whether it was working on a project or dealing with a customer who had visited our desks. Along with my daily tasks and my projects on top I was never twiddling my thumbs!

Once I had understood the basic workings of the internal systems I was given increasing responsibility as my year progressed. Which included projects which had an impact on the production line or assisting the CEO with technical queries.

The placement year has prepared me massively for the working world. My communication skills are vastly improved and I know understand how a global company operates, which is knowledge I can transfer to a graduate role after my degree. This year has also focused me down the business computing route which I now know is a route I wish to go down, whereas before this year I was still undecided as to what area of IT I wished to specialise in.

The office was a large open-plan office, however the IT team was focused within a small area in the office. This allowed for a pleasant atmosphere that was focused but I could easily communicate with my colleagues over the desks.

The placement was well organised as due to the handover period with the previous student you were eased into the role and were an integral part of the team.

I was trained proficiently on the internal BMW systems however in terms of external courses/workshops I did not get an offer to attend one. However as a graduate I understand the company invests more into personal development.

A future employment would be very appealing for me. I would love to go back to RRMC as a graduate as it's a great company to work for with great perks and everyone within the company are very friendly and welcoming. There is also the ability to progress within the BMW Group which is very appealing to myself.

All of my fellow placement students met up regularly and arranged nights out such as go-karting, going to the cinema or going for a night out. As soon as I arrived there was a facebook group created and a group email sent to all the students allowing everyone to introduce themselves.

I was living at home during my placement. From what other students told me Chichester was fairly standard in terms of pricing considering it's on the south coast. Rent and going out seemed to cost the same as I pay in Bournemouth during uni.

Again I was living at home, but Chichester had one club which closed half way through the year. However you could get the train to Brighton or Portsmouth fairly cheaply.

There was various opportunities to get involved with outside of work, from sports teams to classic car meet-ups there was something for everyone to get involved with.