PCGB Finance Intern Review

The placement scheme at Porsche has been one of the best experiences, I have been able to get involved in so many activities and training sessions that I wouldn't have been able to do with any other company. My role was within the finance team, however, I was able to get involved with customer days at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone, I was invited to join the motorsport team at one of the Carrera cup rounds, all of the interns got the opportunity to have training in the cars/brand and even got to experience them first hand on the PEC track. I would recommend this placement to anyone, even if cars do not interest them it was an amazing experience.

The finance team here at Porsche Cars Great Britain are lovely and everyone always supports you to ensure you are able to do your job to the best of your ability. You truly feel valued, as you are completing tasks that are genuinely affecting the team and the business.

At Porsche it is your responsibility to ensure that you are getting the support that you want, personally, I had weekly meetings with my supervisor and monthly meetings with my manager, these meetings were to discuss what was going on with work/meetings/events and to go through feedback. Although these meetings were scheduled I always felt that I was able to discuss any issues as and when they came up as the team is really close and supportive.

Working in finance is very up and down - there are periods where the work load increases like month end, and there are periods when the work load is smaller, like during the middle of the month. However, I was never short of tasks to complete and things to do. My manager/supervisor set me projects and tasks to complete that would vary my experience of the department and there are always volunteer roles at PEC which come up and you are able to complete with permission which also fill quieter times.

The great thing about the PCGB Finance placement is that you are completing tasks which are going to affect the company and the team. If you do not complete your tasks or do not complete them correctly it stops other people doing their jobs. This responsibility is fantastic as it makes you feel valued as an individual.

The role really put my degree into perspective - being finance it is hard to grasp the genuine effect the sums you do in your degree have on an actual company. Working within the finance team ensured that I understand the importance of a finance team. Having never worked in a large office setting, the role also gave me experience of what each department does and how each department effects one another and ensures the company functions. One of the big things that I think I learnt was regarding people and how to communicate with people to ensure you are relaying the correct message.

When I applied for the role I thought the company would be a lot larger than it actually is. There are around 100 PCGB Employed staff in the office which is a very nice amount. It makes for a really friendly and welcoming environment, especially when everyone is so used to having interns around, since the programme has been going for a while with around 16 interns per year. The lovely thing is that everyone knows each other - if not by name then by face.

Since Porsche has been employing interns for a long while they have got the organisation set up very well. When I started there was a transition period because the role was changing slightly which meant there was a bit of uncertainty around the tasks I would be completing (some tasks are, and always will be set in stone). However, my manager and supervisor handled this very well and ensured I was happy with everything I was doing, giving me more and more responsibility as the year went on.

I did not expect Porsche to invest in the interns as much as they did. There were so many fantastic opportunities to go on training, such as ITP (Introduction to Porsche) which allowed us to get a feel for the brand and drive the cars around the Porsche track at Silverstone, we did interpersonal training over two days, we have had the opportunity to opt in to additional training sessions, such as presentation skills, they have even set up the opportunity to go through psychometric tests to find out what personality type you are, who you work well with and what personality types you do not work with.

Unfortunately, due to the size of the company, Porsche do not have a graduate scheme, which means it is unlikely for interns to get a role within the organisation after university. The only way this would happen is if a permanent role opened up. However, Porsche are known to look at previous interns when a role does become vacant.

In my year at Porsche there were 16 interns (including myself) and we all went out together for meals or nights out. It was good to know that people are in the same position as you and is reassuring to know that people have relocated if you are also relocating.

I come from further up north so the south is expensive compared to what I am used too.

A lot of the interns live in or around Reading and the nightlife in Reading is quite lively!

Yes! There were multiple events put on throughout the year which interns were able to get involved in. The Christmas Party, Team Drive, Range Days/Customer Events, and the interns come together every year to hold events which raise money for Charity. the good thing also is that the majority of teams in the organisation hold events of their own, such as team dinners or team events which is good as it allows you to get to know your team a little better.