Student Environmental placement Review

I have really enjoyed my time on placement with Costain. I have been here for 10 weeks and feel as though this was a good amount of time to get the most out of the experience, however if I could stay longer I definitely would! I have had the opportunity to experience all areas of environmental team which has been invaluable for my future career plans.

As soon as I started my placement I felt very comfortable and happy with my colleagues. Everyone was very welcoming and willing to help with anything they could. I made great effort during my time to help colleagues with any work I could and I always got appreciation for this which made me feel very valued during my placement.

On placement I have had both a supervisor and a line manager and have been able to go to them for any support when required. At some moments I did feel I wasnt given too much guidance and was unsure where I was supposed to be working on a daily basis. I resolved this by organising a catch up meeting to see if what I am doing is what they expect and to clarify everything.

I have been lucky enough to be able to have a balance between office work and going out on site. A typical day for me would be to spend time in an office doing some tasks for colleagues but also getting time to go out on site to do site inspections and work with subcontractors. I have also been able to attend meetings and training courses too which make for something different.

I would have liked to have been given a bit more responsibility on my placement. I feel as though I was given pieces of work to complete that were of value, however it would have been very useful to have been given more responsibility. I think this could have been achieved by giving my own site to manage or co-manage for the 10 weeks I was here. This would have given me a real insight into the role of an environmental advisor.

Although my degree does not cover construction, my skills from university in areas such as environmental legislation, policy and auditing has definitely developed since being on placement. I believe that the knowledge and skills I have gained on placement will surely help me in the future, whether that be in ecology or in waste management. The experience has given me more scope to think about my future plans for sure.

During my placement I could work at various offices whether that be on site or at the main office in Euston. I felt as though the site offices were more relaxed and easy going than the main office this was due to the high security at the main office. Generally everyone is chatty and can have a laugh with in work.

I would have liked the placement to have been organised slightly better. It would have been useful to have been given a schedule at the start of my 10 weeks or a brief timetable of everything that I could of attended as part of the environmental team. I didnt know where I was supposed to be each day and what was going on so it would have been useful to have a rough timetable.

During my placement I was given the opportunity to attend training courses such as SEAT's and an induction to be a STEM ambassador which will no doubt help for future careers in the industry. Also in terms of personal development I was asked to put in place objectives for my placement so that I could work on achieving them before I finish.

Due to me spending 10 weeks at Costain this has given me plenty of time to understand the company and to feel at home with my colleagues. If I didn't have another year at university I would be hoping to stay on as a permanent member of staff. I will be keeping in touch however to see what is available when I finish university next summer.

Yes! After having the environmental team monthly meetings there were always arranged drinks and socials afterwards which were a great way to get to know everyone outside of work. I also got the opportunity to meet other placement students on the Main works contract of the project which was nice to hear about their experiences as well.

Living in London the cost of living was much higher than most places. This was helped however by Costain as they provided me with an allowance for housing and travel during my placement which helped a lot. Socialising wasnt too expensive but not something that would be affordable every evening.

Lots of choice for places to go and things to do after work!

I was invited to many socials outside of work but also to work sports days that were organised such as rounders matches and charity sports days.