Placement Year Review at Corus Group

The Role

Role Description

I was responsible for assisting in a number of roles throughout the two miniature placements that I undertook in my 13 months.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I thoroughly enjoyed working for Corus, they treat everyone as equals and value all opinions from every level of the business. I was able to get involved and take control of my own projects throughout my time.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Every employee made me feel valued and useful, the projects and comments provided by my placement supervisors and general work colleagues were always positive and helped to motivate you to carry on and develop as a person and in the technical areas.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I was always provided with support when I needed it by any member of staff, everyone is willing to pass there knowledge on. Some areas prefer to let you go your own way and figure the facts out for yourself, as that is how the real work place would be, and I found this very beneficial as support was provided whenever you needed it, but the majority of the work was done by talking to the people who had many years worth of experience.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

It varied from day to day how busy I was, most days I carried on with my projects and left on time and carried on the next, however as Corus get to know you as a person there trust in you grows, thus offering you more responsibility

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

At first I was not given a great deal of responsibility, which I put down to them not knowing me and getting to know what my capabilities were. However after a few months I was given more and more responsibility, to the point where the last few months I was given a project that was my own, and was to use any references to complete the tasks.

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 found the most useful part of working for Corus was how much I developed as a person. I have come away with a higher understanding of metals which will be extremely beneficial for my learning back at university, but the report writing, presentation skills and professional out look to the work I will be conducting will be the most useful I believe, that will stand me in good stead for University and for the work place

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

There was a good atmosphere where I was working, everyone got along with everyone and had a laugh while working as well. It was always a fun place to be, all levels of management were able to have a joke with each other as long as the work got done to the levels that were required.

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The placement was organised rather well once I was at Corus. I did have a problem before starting, this was down to not having confirmation of work until a few weeks before commencing work. So arranging housing, medicals and so on was hard work, but achievable. I also found that with having to travel to Corus a few times, this was not the best as I had to take time away from important revision in the middle of exams to complete medicals and house hunt.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I was taken to a number of sights around the country with the department, which aided in my development and improve in my project work. Opportunities were obviously restricted on some accounts, down to the economic climate, which meant that opportunities that would have been available before were not.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

• Subsidised/Company Gym

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Depending on the economic climate the prospects are promising. The range of graduate opportunities are excellent.

Other Information

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

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

I did not really encounter many of the other placement students, and if I did they were in different areas of the works.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I never found that I was struggling for money, and never though anything was expensive

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

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The nightlife was rather good, everyone is really friendly and there are a lot of places to go, plenty of pubs, clubs restaurants etc.

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

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

There was a number of gyms and some clubs, however activities were somewhat limited, which I think was down to the size of the town.

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?

I would recommend completing a placement with Corus, the amount of effort that is invested in you throughout your time is fantastic and will help you to develop as a person but also in the technical area of study.

Review 19/34 for Corus Group

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