Summer Placement Review

The placement was very enjoyable and taught me a lot.i built on the knowledge of my last placement while being handed more responsibility. I worked with lots of trades on the site which enabled me to diversify and learn from different people. i also enjoyed working with the teams i was placed with as they made me feel welcome and answered any questions i needed

i felt very valued by my colleagues on site and that showed in how i was given more responsibility compared to the placement i had last year. and even when some engineers were going on holidays, i was put in their handover emails which meant i was trusted to complete some of their duties.

I was well supported as i had a mentor who checked in on me regularly and also a buddy that helped me get settled, my section manager was very welcoming and gave lots of support when i had any questions, he checked on my progress during the weekly engineers meetings and also during our mid and end placement reviews

Most days were pretty busy, there were some lighter days and some very heavy days. but on an average you were always given work when you asked for jobs. I was also given daily responsibilites by the engineers in the teams i was in, which also helped keeping me busy and on site as much as possible.

i was given more responsibility compared to the placement i had last year. When some engineers were going on holidays, i was put in their handover emails which meant i was trusted to complete some of their duties. i was also given daily responsibilities to complete like keeping the diaries and also keeping trackers that showed how much work subcontractors were completing

They showed me that the theory is important but the understanding of the core concepts are what would lead you to excel. I improved my skills on CAD while working with the surveying team and also my ability to read drawings with the RC team. I also improved my time management as I had to wake up early and also make sure I finish all the tasks I was set in the time before I left for home.

The office was always a bubbly place and they tried to make it as homey as possible with pictures and informative posters, there was always fruit and jokes flying around. it was a really fun place at the office as opposed to just work all day. The site is also as fun, with mixing work with a bit of fun to ensure you dont get burnt out

The placement was set up pretty well from the communication to the transition, to getting my resources like an ID and a key card and log in details. All that was done before i even got there and helped in a smooth transition which was really good. We were also allocated tasks to complete which ensured we spoke to as many people to be able to complete. including project mangers and designers

The company really invests in your in that they are really focused on getting their engineers chartered, so they urge you to join the ICE and also give you tasks to complete so you can start to tick off objectives that will help push you closer to getting chartered.

They are very appealing as they also run a graduate scheme that you're put into once your degree is finished and by the time you've done that for 3 years, you start moving up the chain. and when you hopefully get chartered, you keep moving up even faster.

Yes. most of the apprentices and engineers and even people on site were in my age range which meant we were more social and even wen to get drinks after a long week of hard work.

Cost of living in london is high and so is the cost of socialising in oxford street, but the company give you money to help with that which is called the london allowance. Also accommodation allowance if you arent staying at home

Nightlife was good, but i stayed a bit far away from there so i wasnt really out there at night

Yes, there were sports competitions, bonding activities and even volunteering work for the environment that gave you opportunities to go outside the office