Placement Year Review at CSC

The Role

Role Description

Junior Product Specialist
By the end of their placement, the Student should be able to:
• Be an expert in a software product
• Represent the CSC Alliance at meetings/presentations/workshops
• Explain and demonstrate the functionality of the product to users at all levels in the NHS
• Conduct detailed product walk-throughs
• Assist with gap analysis and local solution design
• Support local configuration of the Product(s)
• Develop acceptance testing plans with the client and assist with their implementation
• Assist in the creation and development of local project plans
• Assist data migration teams in cleansing and accepting data into systems
• Support Trusts immediately after go-live
• Be involved in formal product acceptance testing programs

Administration:
• Maintain Product Specialist people database – needs Access skills
• Status report tracking
• Timesheet analysis - who is booking to the central code?
• Maintaining Product Specialist knowledge assets - keeping the library up to date rather than creating the assets
• Assist with resource scheduling

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Quite an enjoyable job, working with a large team of members across several different sites and trusts / hospitals. Challenging at times.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Felt very valued by my immediate team and line managers, not a lot of interdepartmental interaction.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Help was on hand if it was needed, but I was rarely located in the same office as the same manager for more than 2 days a week. This was a positive aspect as it made me use my initiative a lot more.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

On a daily basis it really varied, Mondays and Thursdays would be extremely busy due to changover days and more tasks needing to be completed on those days, based on when the product speciailists e-mailed in the latest info updates and status reports.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I had an awful lot fo responsibility while on placement, but the work load was always shared between myself and another IP student. I had the sole responsibility of keeping the PS inbox up to date, managing PS timesheets, training courses, holiday bookings and a management database to complete in the year. We also had lots of presentations to complete for team leaders before our work was allowed to replace the existing systems in place.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I strongly believe i have picked up some priceless skills during my placement at CSC. I have boosted many personal and business competencies that will keep me in good stead in the Business world.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

Generally, it was primarily a working atmosphere, people tended to keep themselves to themselves an get on with the task in hand. I wouldn't rate it as the best working atmosphere but at times when working with a close team it would be a lot better.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

Overall it was good experience, but I think more time should have been taken to ensure the job description provided before taking the job was met. There was also department and management changes which affected our work structure during the year. There was not much awareness of communicating our performance from line management back to university and long delays in getting work logs handed back and evaluated.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

In my honest opinion, I do feel I have taken a lot from my placement year but I also believe that was down to me wanting to pick up new skills rather than them giving me lots of options and opportunities.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

• Flexi Time
• National Travel
• Company Parties/Events
• Above 25 days holiday
• Working from home

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I think after having a year with the company in various departments I would definitely consider taking the graduate package within the business departments as I definitely enjoyed the business side of work more than the technical tasks that were set.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

I was based at Knowsley, along with 2 other IP students, we gelled right away and had many good nights out and also got invited out on staff nights / xmas and birthday nights out. From working at other sites, I could see that there was a much larger group of students and younger people on board which might have been a better location, such as Leeds.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

I stayed in university accommodation still, in Liverpool, so I was happy with the additional income I had left over after my Rent and had enough for socialising, I didn't earn enough to manag to save up much over the year, however.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Not a lot of places to go for a night out in Knowsley or Huyton where I was based, but obviously I'm just on the outskirts of Liverpool, same as at uni which has a great night life, along with Leeds when I worked there!

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Minimal activites were organised to be honest, other than 5 a side football and work nights out.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

Be sure to clarify what your role will involve before accepting the job. I was heavily under the impression I would be doing a lot of training courses and business based tasks, which unfortunately ended up being a very technical based placement, but I did pick up lots of business competencies, just by experiencing office life and liaising with management and my immediate team.

Review 1/13 for CSC

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