HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) Placement Student Review

There were some things I enjoyed on the placement and some that I did not, just like with any job. For example one thing I did not really enjoy was the administration element. However I found the other projects that I worked on interesting. As part of my job I get to work with other departments and learning about other areas of the business as well as my own department was interesting.

As I settled into the role my manager started to see my real potential and started to appreciate my abilities through the work that I was doing. Through this my manager valued my hard work. My manager also relies and trusts me to be in charge when they are out of office. I also felt valued by colleagues from other departments.

My manager gave me guidance on some topics but for other topics I had to learn on the job. However my manager was always ready to give me feedback on what was good and what points to improve, for a task that I had taken on. In terms of seeking help from other departments, usually people were ready to answer my questions and give assistance. There were different people who I felt very comfortable asking for help and some others who I did not feel so comfortable with when asking for help.

I work in a small department and so there was a lot of work to do. I was never bored because there was always something to do or something new to learn. However, there were moments when I felt that I was too busy and that I had to rush to complete a particular task.

I was given a lot of responsibility during this placement. I gained satisfaction from my work because the projects I did added value to the plant. The nature of my job also requires me to be responsible for the people in the plant. Furthermore, when my manager is not around, I am left in charge.

This placement was not related to the degree that I study in university. Therefore, in terms of technical knowledge for my degree, I did not gain any. However, the knowledge and training in relation to my job is something that is widely applicable. The soft skills gained are skills that I will use when I go back to university as well as in my future career(s).

The general atmosphere was okay. There were a few departments in one office so it was easy to ask for help if needed. I also felt that one of the departments was rather cliquey. During a special occasion, there would be goodies in the office. It was sometimes conducive to do work but I also felt uncomfortable and pressured to have my manager sit directly next to me. It was interesting because there are a lot of nationalities in the plant but the company is French-based so I was exposed to French and other cultures.

The placement program is always reviewed by the HR team every year based on the feedback given by the students and their managers. The inductions for the students into the company were well-organized. The students were also given an induction plan at the start of the placement. There are planned quarterly reviews between the manager and student to look at objectives and evaluate both the performances of student and manager.

Given that what I study was not related to my job, the company put me on a training course to assist me in the role and also gave me a chance to be part of other training sessions. There are also plenty of e-learning courses on the intranet which are quite interesting.

The V.I.E. (Voluntary International Enterprise) program is an excellent program but is only limited to people who are European nationals. Faurecia also has a UK graduate scheme which prioritises the placement students but they will still need to reapply for it - there is no fast-track option. However Faurecia is not currently a Tier 2 Visa Sponsor so this is difficult for international students. Still, Faurecia is a very large business and there are opportunities to work all over the world so given the right networks are made there are still possibilities.

Not amongst the placement students. We did not socialize outside work as everyone lived in different areas away from the plant. Most of them were very cliquey. With other colleagues there would be meet-ups for birthdays, farewells, after-work running club, and sometimes to watch some sport.

The closest city was Lichfield and it was a bit more expensive but can survive with the salary.

The closest city was Lichfield and there are some pubs and bars to have nights out.

The placement students and graduates were involved in a charity-based competition where the plant who raised the most money for a chosen charity would win. The fundraising events were to be driven by the placement students and graduates and therefore this was something fun to do outside of work whilst giving back to society.