Rate My Placement

In a new feature for this year we are inviting students who are on a placement, and those applying, to write a blog about their experiences. Below you can read regular updates covering all aspects of the placement process; expect some highs, lows, maybe tears, and probably hangovers. Feel free to comment on the blogs, or if you are interested in becoming a blogger and sharing your experiences contact us here.

Read all the Guest Blogger Entries here.

Our first blogger is Manny Mandola who has been working for Logica for 3 months. He has been on 3 projects already so has varied experiences in a time of great change for Logica.

Manny Kandola vital stats
Company: Logica
Age: 20
University: Aston

“I have been with Logica since July and and I am a student at Aston University studying Computer Science. So far at Logica I have worked in various roles and feel that have experienced much in a short period of time. I have done Marketing, Global resourcing and currently I am doing a more technical java based role. I am working with one of Logica’s largest clients and getting good exposure towards the client.

I have moved to West London for a year from Birmingham and the project is supporting me in terms of travel expenses as my original office has now closed as part of the restructuring of the company. Initially I thought this would disadvantage me as a student trying to get the most out of my placement but so far it has worked out well and I am happy with the way the company is looking at Industrial Placement students as an investment.”

Who would have thought it? We have never heard of Outokumpo Stainless and then we get two applications from students on placement there. We did our research and for those of you who don’t know “Outokumpo are fast becoming the undisputed number one in stainless. What makes us special is total customer focus – all the way, from R&D to delivery. You have the idea. We offer you world-class stainless steel, technical know-how and support.”

Ben Duffy vital stats
Company: Outokumpu Stainless
Age: 20
University: Sheffield Hallam

“I am Ben Duffy, a 20 year young male and I am currently studying at Sheffield Hallam University in which I am studying for BA Hons in business studies and I am now in the 3rd year of study which is my placement year. My placement for this year of study is at Outokumpu Stainless (No 1 In Stainless) which is based in Finland, Sweden, Holland, England, Germany. I am at the distribution offices in England based in Sheffield, (at which point I stopped living the student life and moved home) I must say I am an upcoming, fast moving stainless steel executive. My role in this placement so far is to basically sell the steel to the willing and also the unwilling, which is proving quite intriguing.

I have currently have been here 2 months and have many highs and lows whilst I’ve been here already. And whilst enjoying one of my vending machine lunches I came across this website and thought why not give this a go. So this could be the first of many blogs, so look forward to highs, lows, happy times and sad times, maybe surprising times. Who knows until we cross these bridges.”

Read Ben’s latest blog entries here.

Michael Latham vital stats
Company: Outokumpu Stainless
Age: 20
University: Sheffield Hallam

Our 2nd blogger at Outokumpu is Michael Latham who has the dubious pleasure of working in a factory where everybody is going to be made redundant. Compare his experiences with Ben Duffy’s and find out how he gets on in this interesting year.

“Well I’m Michael Latham, from Manchstesr originally but been studying in Sheffield, at Sheffield Hallam for 2 years and I am now in my 3rd year and out on placement. I decided to stay and do my placement in Sheffield because its a pretty awesome city. I may have made a mistake living with my uni mates, seeing as they will be out getting nice and drunk every night, but we will have to see how that goes, and I can tell you all how silly an idea it is to move in with drunken yobs!

Anyways in terms of my placement, I have been here at Outokumpu since the start of August and i’m really enjoying myself. Getting along really will with the staff here – Good Times, but we have recently found out that this specific site is being shut down and everyone being made redundant - Bad Times. Its going to be a strange experience the next few weeks, as I am expecting to move to a different site within Sheffield, but I have no idea where or when.

My role within the company is working in the logistics department, mainly dealing with shipping the steal to our lovely customers. There are around 3 Outokumpu sites situated in Sheffield, as well as sites across Finland, Sweden, Holland, & Germany. The specific site I am working at specialises in precision strips which involves cutting sheets of steel into very thin strips ready to be turned into such items as razors for companies such as Gillette. Hopefully the next few weeks shouldn’t be too traumatic but I invite you to come with me on a journey through time and space to the world of Outokumpu.”

Read Michael’s latest blog entries here.

Nicola Adlard vital stats
Company: Cucina Sano
Age: 20
University: Sheffield Hallam

Our 4th blogger is Nicola Adlard another student from Sheffield Hallam, clearly a proactive bunch up there. She is going to be talking about her experiences on placement within the food industry.

“I am currently on placement at Cucina Sano in Old Leake, Lincolnshire, as part of my university course where I study Public Health Nutrition at Sheffield Hallam University. I began my placement on 1st July and decided to undertake a placement to gain experience in the workplace and further my knowledge of the food industry. I was lucky enough to gain a placement at Cucina Sano which has enabled me to live at home which is only 10 minutes drive away from work and has cut my expenses considerably.

Cucina Sano is a relatively new food factory who produces products for Marks & Spencer, such as many of the salads and lasagnes. My role within the company is technical administrator which is an extremely varied position with every day being different. My main responsibilities are to issue the complaints to the QAs, produce the date coding sheets, update and maintain the QMS system, the KPI and the main computer system used throughout the factory called Marco. I also aid the QA manager in administrative work such as updating factory paperwork, storyboards and recipes. So far I feel I have learnt a lot about the workplace, however I still have a lot to learn. My job is also varied in the workload, some days I have very little to do and others I work late to get everything completed.”

And last but of course, not least is Phil Hazelton. Phil is our only blogger (at the moment) who is looking for a placement, follow his experiences as he tries to find and apply for his perfect placement.

Phil Hazelton vital stats
Company: Currently looking for a placement
Age: 19
University: Bournemouth

“My name is Phil, and I’m a second year currently studying Business at Bournemouth University. I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship, and I’m also a keen web developer; a combination which has naturally led me to select e-Business as my field of specialty. When looking for universities a couple of years ago, Bournemouth stood out to me right from the start as being head and shoulders above the rest. The balance of reputation, location, course content and social life just seemed perfect, and a year on I’m confident it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.

As I settle into my second year I’m very conscious of the fact that my placement is looming just around the corner, and with that in mind (and with a little encouragement from the staff here) I’m hoping I can get a head-start on sending out at least some of my applications.

At the moment I am torn between two types of company: the first being giants like HP or IBM, which have an excellent record for student placements, yet seem to offer (in my mind at least) less chance of a graduate job. The other category would be SMEs, which have the added appeal of being much more approachable, and hopefully the chance to become a “bigger fish in a smaller pond”, as it were. My current strategy is to apply for both like crazy, whilst keeping an eye out for any unexpected opportunities that might come my way.”

Read Phil’s latest blog entries here.

Over the next year, we’ll be keeping up-to-date with each of our guest bloggers, so be sure to check back regularly to see how they’re all getting on and what they’ve been up to.

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