IT Compliance

The company itself was amazing and very welcoming. It was great to experience how a big company works and be in situations that have never been an options during education. The role itself was also very good for me and I was also given the opportunity to move around into different departments to get the most out of my experience.

All colleagues are very welcoming towards placement students due to the fact there are on average 10 on this site. They have no problems approaching you to ask you a work related question and you will also make friendships with most of them due to it being a small site.

I virtually had two roles on my placement so I almost had two managers who were very supportive and always ensured that I was comfortable with the work load and pushed me to complete tasks or helped me when I was stuck. Various colleagues are also on hand to support you depending on which task you're stuck on.

Working within IT, it can be very unpredictable. Sometimes I can be very busy, sometimes I can have nothing to do. But I believe my managers always asked me if I needed any work to do and gave me as much work as possible. You do find yourself bored at time but this is to be expected.

I was given various tasks and roles and from an IT perspective, I was pretty important to help the site with projects and remain compliant for audits. So I believe I was given a fair amount of responsibility, but only within my limits, being at the company for less than a year at a young age.

I think the most valuable thing I have learned is how professional business' work. This was my first office job of sorts, so I had no idea what to expect going in but from here on out, I will definitely be more at ease working at companies in the future. I have also gained extra knowledge in my chosen field which will greatly benefit me during my final year of University and my career.

The people within my office were friendly, but there was a bit of a different in personalities and age, so sometimes it would be silent due to me being in a relatively small team. But everyone was nice enough and if I needed to, I was able to talk to them.

I think it was pretty well organized. From my first day, everything was ready for me to get set up and most of my inductions were completed within the first week. I was also told from day 1 which work I would be getting involved in and what the plan for the year was.

My manager always ensured that I was gaining enough experience and making my time worth while here, and she devoted a lot of her free time to help me, so she was pretty invested in helping me out. The company itself are always looking for ways to improve the placement process, so it's clear they are invested in this scheme.

I would definitely take on a job here in the future due to the colleagues and the site itself, but I could not see myself in the particular role I applied to, due to personal reasons, but nothing to do with the company. There are employees here that used to be placement students, so there is something to work towards while here.

Myself and the other placement students often had lunch together and have arranged to meet outside of work as a goodbye. There was generally a good atmosphere between the placement students and we all also made friends with employees here which is good in terms of networking and future prospects.

Public transport prices are high, just like anywhere. In terms of the area, I have lived in and around Birmingham since I was born so I don't really notice a difference, but compared to London, it is of course cheaper and nothing in Birmingham should really put you off moving here.

The nightlife in Birmingham is good, Broad Street in particular. There are a variety of clubs, rather than just the same music at every one. Broad Street is also centrally located so is pretty easy to get transport to and from. There isn't really any nightlife places near to the actual work place itself, but that is to be expected.

There were always charity and fundraising events to be getting involved with. Such as football, race for life and attending events thrown by the charities we support. There are also opportunities to go out with your work colleagues around Christmas time or when you leave as a celebration / thank you.