Power Academy Scholar Review

This was my first placement experience and I feel I benefited so much from 8 weeks. I particularly enjoyed the scheme and I highly recommend it.

I felt like I was part of the family since day one. I was doing work that had important contributions to the team which made me feel very valued.

I had an amazing line manager which helped me every step of the way. We would have regular meetings to discuss personal development skills and establish objectives.

I believe I had a perfect balance of work where I never felt I was so busy I couldn't handle it.

I was responsible for one the sections in a document that is released by National Grid every year, so the work I was contributing to was of great importance.

I feel like I didnt just learn the topics I dealt with during the 8 weeks at an "academic" level but also took into account different factors such as the commercial side of the business.

Great atmosphere to work in with incredible facilities and work environment. The canteen had a lot of food varieties which meant there were lots of choices every day to enjoy a fabulous meal. The coffee machines were free to use and the Costa pods helped get through the day while enjoying a nice coffee at the desk.

Very well organised, interim and final reviews were held which aided the scholars in keeping track of the work they were doing. National Grid has experience in the Power Academy scheme which was clearly visible to the scholars as the line managers knew about the program or had even been on it before.

I learnt so much about the company and different tours were held of the TNCC, GNCC, ENCC and other facilities to give scholars more of an insight into the different sections of the company. There were personal development matrix which allowed the scholars to see which areas they would like to improve on, this was particular helpful in the long run.

I was offered a job on the graduate scheme, which I am so delighted about. The graduate scheme is for 18 months, where you do 3 placements each for 6 months. This gives the opportunity to explore the different departments and see which one is mostly suited to you for when you achieve your permanent job for National Grid.

There were activities held such as socials, pub quizzes, kayaking and ball games at the park. We would organize different events for when the weather was sunny, which gave a great opportunity to form strong relationships with the other scholars which could potentially be co workers on the graduate scheme.

Between the scholars there was a lot of socializing going on which was great. The accommodations were cheap but had to be organised last minute, meaning we lived in a "rough" section of Leamington. I would suggest that National Grid do something to organize accommodations for scholars as the placements start in June, looking for a place is complicated as May is exam periods for most and therefore time cannot be wasted looking.

Not much of a person that goes out but there are events held.

There were activities held such as socials, pub quizzes, kayaking and ball games at the park. We would organize different events for when the weather was sunny, which gave a great opportunity to form strong relationships with the other scholars which could potentially be co workers on the graduate scheme.