One year busines placement - fixed asset tax services Review

I have really enjoyed my placement so far. My team have made me feel at ease straight away and I have been given a lot of independent and challenging tasks along the way. My placement so far has exceeded my expectations due to the variety of work that is challenging yet rewarding.

I felt very valued by my colleagues and felt part of the team straight away. I'm not made to feel like a one year business placement I feel like a graduate who has a lot of experience in tax as I am given a lot of independence but also a lot of support and help along the way. I have a great team to work with who have made me feel at ease as soon as I started.

A lot of support is given during your placement especially at the beginning as everything is new and i didn't have a lot of knowledge of tax as it isn't a module that is covered at my University in first or second year.

During the first few weeks there is a lot of online training to complete to get you ready for a years placement including tax training in the London office to make sure everyone had the skills required to perform their job appropriately. some days are busier than others. when I wasn't so busy I would look at potential topics for my dissertation that I have to complete during my placement. But as a whole you are kept very busy with Claims and site surveys.

I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement in terms of going on site surveys to meet clients and to produce independent work which was demanding but really enjoyable to be given challenges along the way which tested my knowledge and helped me to gain further insight into the work I was doing.

The skills developed during placement will have a real impact when I go back to University in my final year as I have a tax module. therefore the knowledge that I have learnt in this year will be applied appropriately and hopefully I can fly through the module and achieve a first. not only did I gain knowledge in capital allowance but as tax as a whole as I learnt about Research and development, transfer pricing and corporate tax as a whole.

The general atmosphere in the office is really friendly and laid back. The office is a really friendly environment to work in and its not too serious or strict.

The work placement is really well organised from the moment you first apply. You are given regular contact with the on-boarding recruitment team and your also assigned a buddy who is the previous OYBP student which I think is really good because you get to know someone before you start so its a little less daunting.

Company has so far invested a lot of time in making sure my development and training occurs. During my first week I was sent to the London office for two days for additional training in tax to widen my knowledge before I started my placement so I had some idea of what I would be doing. You are required to complete online training during your first month to enhance your skills.

There seems to be a lot of employment opportunities within the organisation. The OYBP students that I took over have been offered graduate jobs on their return from University. there is also a lot of job prospects within tax as whole and not just within Capital allowances.

There have been a lot of social events set up so far. In my first week we went for drinks and a meal as a member of the team was leaving. the company also set up a boat party for the placement students and those on the 4 week programme as a catch-up to see how everyone was getting on with their new jobs which was really exciting.

I worked in Birmingham as I was fortunate to live at hoe during my placement year so I saved a lot of money! The cost of socialising was average, a bit more expensive to what I was used to because as a student I tried to go as cheap as possible but it was really nice to go for drinks at places I wouldn't of been able to afford as a student without a job!

Nightlife is really good in Birmingham broad street is full of a variety of pubs and clubs that are packed at the weekend. The bars around the office are also really nice with a bar on the ground floor which is perfect for a drink after a long day in the office.

There are a lot of sporting and charity opportunities to get involved in outside of work which is great to enhance your CV and networking as you get to know more individuals from different areas within the office.