Placement Year Review at CSC

The Role

Role Description

Working on the NHS Connecting for health account supporting the NHS data centres on a day-to-day basis. During the placement I worked at streamlining the cases that came into our team by providing network support. I managed an internal Network which provided me with the skills required to excel in the networking field.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Great experience and it definately prepares you for your final year. Sometimes you do get bored but when you do get work, its work that will stretch you and bring out the best in you. The placement here did make me a more motivated, well-spoken person and built upon my existing skills. The money is good too and you realise the value of it when you get back to being in University! I made some great contacts while I was here and it was the reason I am back working at the company. The experience was highly valuable and I learnt more in my one year here, than at the 3 years at University!

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Great people, make you feel welcomed and don't treat you like a student. You also get given full responsibility of high profile tasks.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Management and colleagues were always available for issues and were fully understanding of any problems I had. They always worked with me and gave me assistance but never held my hand and did the work for me which was great in building my skills.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Sometimes I was bored as I did not posess the technical knowledge to do my role which was eventually gained throughout the placement. Although, when I spoke to others who were on more business related roles, they had sufficient amounts of work to do.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The tasks I was given, were high profile and highly important to the success of some of the initiatives being undertaken.

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

Priceless! Business, technical and personal skills all developed in manner that cannot be taught in a lecture!

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Open office, however some people were glued to their screens while others were friendly and sociable.

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

My placement was transitioned from Accenture and they had ran it badly from the start. CSC took over the NHS account and we were the first placement students and there were some teething problems, however towards the end, the placement took a more structured approach and the current scheme seems fantastic compared to two years ago.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I did not receive any financed training, however I was trained locally by my team mates on a regular basis. This helped me develop my skills at an exponential rate.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

• Flexi Time
• Subsidised/Company Gym
• National Travel
• Company Parties/Events
• Staff Sales/Staff Shop
• Above 25 days holiday
• Healthcare/Dental

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Your placement is what you make of it. If you work hard and make a good impression, there is no reason why CSC would not take you back after university. This also saves you a lot of time with applications. CSC is a great company to work for as it has a great human resource focus and it places significant emphasis on its people.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

You are all in the same boat and so speaking to each other (people your age) makes you feel more comfortable and other placement students are always willing to talk to you about their experiences.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Very reasonable if you live in student accomodation. Student nights are every night and very cheap.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

The Leeds office is in the city centre and the nightlife here is very cheap and full of students on weekdays and some weekends. Young sociable scene.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Plenty of stuff to do if you wanted to do it. I took up taekwondo and am still there today. a lot of things happening near the city.

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?

Highly recommend doing a placement as it paves the way for you back into employment when you finish university. You also learn more in the placement year than you do at university in terms of "the real world".

Review 3/13 for CSC

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