Placement Trainee Review

I enjoyed my placement enormously. I was given the opportunity to work on several different projects each of which were at different stages in the project life cycle. I also enjoyed not being stuck in the same office day in day out and instead would regularly carry out site visits and attend meetings at the client’s offices and the architect’s offices.

It varied from team to team some colleagues would make you feel extremely valued others not so much. I would say that I felt more valued towards the end of the placement as I began to take on more responsibility.

I was given excellent support and guidance throughout the placement. My line manager was very friendly and would always spare 5 minutes so you could talk something through with him. Other colleagues would also generally be more than happy to offer advice and if someone couldn’t help with something you they would always be able to point you in the direction of someone who could.

As with most things there were peaks and troughs throughout the year. Sometimes you would be required to stay quite late but to offset that, at quieter points during the year, you could go home a bit earlier. During the first few weeks you should expect to be a bit bored with not too much to do but this soon picks up.

During my placement I was given more and more responsibility as I became more competent. One of the projects I was working on which had reached the end of the 12 month defects period was my sole responsibly and similarly on other projects I was given specific elements which were my responsibility.

I am positive that I will be able to use and incorporate the knowledge and skills that I have gained during my final year at university. Mace have put on several training events which you are able to attend and some, such as JCT and NEC3 contract training, will be directly relevant to modules next year.

The atmosphere in the office is quite corporate but that’s to be expected. However it is quite normal to spend a lot of time out of the office either seconded into a client’s office or out on site visits.

Placement was extremely well organised. Getting set up on day one ran very smoothly and any events put on by HR were well organised.

This is what I believe is one of Mace’s biggest strengths. Throughout the placement I attended a number of training and development events both within Mace and at external companies. The vast majority of the training sessions are open to anyone who signs up which is great for placement students who want to gain the most out of their year out.

Future employment prospects are great a Mace. The 2 year Graduate Scheme is very well thought off in the industry and if you impress during the placement year you are guaranteed to be accepted onto the Grad Scheme. While you are on the Graduate Scheme you will be supported to become chartered and this will in turn help you get promoted in the future.

The social aspect really depends on how many placement trainees are in your sector. In the public sector there were only two so you needed to really make an effort to stay in touch with placement students in other parts of the business. The 6 month placement drinks was therefore really good for hearing what everyone had been up to.

The cost of living and socializing is quite high as is to be expected with the placement being in London.

Goes without saying that the nightlife in London is excellent.

All employees including placement trainees are given a volunteering day which is separate to your annual leave allowance so this provides an excellent opportunity to get involved in an activity outside of work. Within my team in the Public Sector there was also the opportunity to take part in one off sporting events after work which all counted towards an overall leaderboard.