Undergraduate Risk Reporting Co-ordinator Review

I thoroughly recommend anyone looking for a year long placement to consider Volkswagen Financial Services. The placement scheme is fantastic and working here has been a great opportunity to gain real life experience within the Financial Services sector. I was fortunate enough to be given a great deal of responsibility and, providing you proved yourself, you were given even more throughout the year. The work was varied and interesting, with lots to learn and get my head around, so the early stages were especially challenging and interesting.

Throughout my time I have always felt like a valued member of the team. I received constant recognition for the work I completed from both my manager and the wider business. I wasn't treated like a placement student at all, I was treated like a full-time member of staff, thrown in at the deep end.

I had regular one-to-one meetings with my managers on a monthly basis to discuss my progress and any concerns I had, so I was constantly aware of what I was doing well and what my development areas were. Outside of those meetings, if I ever had any questions about work, or wanted to discuss anything, they would always be happy to find time for me.

The reporting my team & I were responsible for is split into daily, monthly & quarterly reporting, so we were busy periodically, especially at monthly & quarterly ends. There were days when I was so busy I hardly left my desk even to eat or grab a drink, and there were other days when very little work came through our team - particularly near the near the end of the month - and so I could relax a lot more & focus on my university work.

I was very fortunate in that I was given a lot of responsibility throughout the year, and probably more so than an undergraduate should expect! This was a great learning curve for me also, as I was thrown in the deep end and had to work hard to prove myself.

The professional and practical skills I have obtained will help me greatly upon returning to university. This year I have enhanced existing skills and developed new ones, particularly skills employers look for, such as team working, communication & problem solving. I study Accountancy & Finance so its most likely that I'll end up in Finance in the future! And I'm sure the skills I've acquired this year will prove invaluable going forward in the future.

That atmosphere in the office was great, there was a definite family feeling within the department and business as a whole. I recommend that you go out of your way to meet everyone, not just the people in your team and surrounding area.

The placement itself was generally well organised. Prior to starting the placement, HR organised a 'familiarisation' event for all undergraduates to attend, which was a great way to meet your fellow undergraduates & sort out living arrangements if you're moving to Milton Keynes. In addition to this, we were given a tour around the office & met our teams for the first time. Really helpful!

Every employee, undergraduate or not, goes through the same induction process within their first six months which provides you with all the crucial business knowledge required to get you started. In addition to this, there are loads of additional course in which all employees have the opportunity to register for. I myself enrolled onto an Excel Advanced course which proved to be very useful as my role was predominately Excel based. Though as with most jobs, the majority of learning was through on the job training. Personally, I don't feel like the company invested in me anymore than any other member of staff.

As it stands the company doesn't have a graduate scheme, though I would after this year I would definitely consider coming back if the right opportunity was presented to me. Nothing is set in stone, though I have had an informal offer to return to VWFS has my final years study.

The social scene amongst my fellow placement students was great. It was like being in the first year of uni again, meeting all these new people, except we all got up early every morning and went to work! The social scene amongst my colleagues were pretty much non-existent as a lot of my team had other dependencies outside of work. Though outside of that there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in social events with other members of staff.

I was fortunate enough to live at home throughout the year & so didn't pay for rent in the area - though I have been told from others that rent is slightly above average compared to other places. I'd argue that's the same for the cost of socialising in the area too.

Poor. Head out to Northampton if you can

There was dedicated 'Teamswork' team that ran social events outside of the company on a regular basis. So plenty of opportunities