UK Human Resources Placement Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement. I was given a lot of responsibility and autonomy during my time here and was given a forum to implement meaningful changes to my role and the student recruitment process. I have had the opportunity to travel across the UK and meet many different people, inside and outside of Faurecia, and gain invaluable knowledge that will help build the foundations for my future career.

I have felt like a valued member of my team throughout my placement year. I am given the opportunity to suggest and implement changes. Each team member has took the time during my placement to mentor me and assist in any way they could.

I have felt fully supported by management and my supervisor. During my first few months I hit a few bumps in the road (as expected) and my manager was there to help at each point and provide meaningful feedback on ways to improve and move forward.

As my role is mostly project based, I have had some very busy times and some quite quiet times. The times where I have been busy I have enjoyed thoroughly although it can be quite difficult to manage your time. However, I am expected to be quite reactive in my role, so in the times where I have been quieter, it has meant that I have been able to complete requests almost immediately, and also take on tasks outside of my original responsibilities and this experience has been invaluable.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility during my placement. I am the coordinator of placement student recruitment and expected to be responsible for all aspects of it. I am also the team administrator, meaning many of my day to day tasks are crucial to the team and also the plants throughout the UK. Taking on this much responsibility was daunting at first, but has been a brilliant learning experience.

I have noticed a significant improvement in my communication and organization skills during my placement year. This will help in my final year as I am able to communicate more effectively, including confidently present to a large audience. I feel the improvement to my organizational skills will help with organizing my time in my final year, and will be a skill I can take forward into my future career. Furthermore, my appreciation and understanding of the Human Resources function will be incredibly useful in my studies and also when working in Human Resources in the future.

As can be expected in an automotive manufacturing environment, the atmosphere in the office changed daily. When there are busy and stressful times, that is reflected in the office atmosphere. In general, the office atmosphere is positive and my colleagues are always on hand to help.

There was a lot of organization that went into my work placement, I was always kept on the right track during my time at Faurecia. There have been organized events throughout the year to help with our integration into the business and also to conclude the placement. These have been very beneficial and I have gained useful insights into the business from this.

I have had continuous on the job training during my placement. I have been given a lot of guidance and scope to learn about different HR practices and also how to use the various systems used by Faurecia daily. The student induction event at the start of the year was a brilliant way to introduce us to the company and gain a useful insight into what our placement year would be like.

The future employement prospects at Faurecia are very appealing to me. There is a UK graudate scheme and an international VIE scheme. I am much more interested in the UK Graduate Scheme and would definitely like to explore this option in the future. During the graduate scheme, I would be sponsored through a Masters-level qualification which is very appealing as I would conclude the scheme with a wealth of experience and another qualification to aid in my future.

There were some chances to socialize amongst placement students and colleagues. As I travelled to all of the different sites in the UK, I got to meet many people within the business and was always welcomed by each site. This sometimes included socializing outside of work which was always a nice experience.

I chose to live at home during my placement year so I have had a relatively cheap year. My social life has been good as I have been able to spend time with people I know from home. The cost of living in Washington is relatively cheap anyway with the cost of living in the North East being one of the cheapest in the UK. The social life in the nearby cities of Sunderland & Newcastle are excellent with many activities on offer as well as lots of bars and restaurants.

There isn't a huge nightlife scene in Washington, however the cities of Sunderland & Newcastle have massive nightlife scenes with many bars and clubs.

There was not much opportunity to get involved in activities outside of work with colleagues, but there are many social clubs and places to do activities in the North East which can keep you very busy should you choose.