Forestry Intern Review

I am currently enjoying my placement. The level of education is good and I believe that the placement is expanding my skills beyond what I arrived with. I also enjoy the level of trust placed in me by the company and the attitude of 'head down and get on with it'. It's refreshing to be able to structure my time week on week.

I feel valued by the majority of my colleagues, there are a number of jobs which I have been assigned for which I would question the relevance to an educational placement. This work is relatively menial with little to no feedback. Could be better structured with reasons behind work being required highlighted.

As this has largely been a self directed placement with work being carried out for people on an individual basis, there has been little direct mentoring. This could be increased in the future, with monthly catch ups to ensure that everyone is happy with the progress being made.

I managed to fill my time, as a lot of the work carried out is site specific and there was a large amount of travelling involved some days would be longer than others. This was driven by the need to maximise time on a site which might require 2hours+ of driving to reach

A reasonable amount. So far I haven't been assigned any direct authority positions but it has been made clear to me that my opinion on subjects is valued and if I notice anything which requires immediate attention I should alert people. There is an inherent element of trust with the amount of lone working carried out during the placement. Trust that you are where you say you are and that you spent the time required at that site.

I cannot answer this question as I have not yet completed the placement year.

Atmosphere in the Hexham office is pleasant, lively and welcoming, possibly due to the open plan nature of the space. Bellshill was far less relaxed with a more business like attitude, less levity and a more compartmentalised feel.

Well organised, two week hand over with former intern was especially useful. It gave me a chance to familiarise myself with the way the company worked and get a grasp on the basics without taking time from full employees. It allowed me to ask the dumb questions of someone in a similar position to me and to establish what I could expect from the coming year.

I have been encouraged to attend events and training sessions run across the country. I have attended a days training on CCF and am doing a course on ash management later this week. Internal training was cursory but there are opportunities to attend other company training events which I haven't yet taken up.

Very, so far I have very much enjoyed the experience and the company is definitely one that I would like to work for in the future. Talking to current employees it is easy to get a sense that EGGER is a company which values it's staff and strives to give them a good working environment with a lot of support.

Nope, but due to the nature of the work I didn't expect one. The sites are spread out across a large area and it is rare for all the employees to be in one place regularly. When we are all together it is good fun but there isn't an after hours social scene as far as I can tell.

Relatively high. I live in a one bedroom flat which I rent privately so the price is quite expensive. I am also in a small rural area so if I wish to attend any larger social scenes then I need to travel 50+ miles to reach them. This is a little inconvenient and it does add to the cost but it is not a deal breaker for me

N/.a

None provided by the company but the areas in which I work have encouraged me to become involved in bikepacking, trail riding and running. I have also seen my walking fitness improve drastically, this has opened other activities outside work to me up. I really enjoy the high level of walking involved with work and the areas which I am exposed to.