Undergraduate Civil Engineer Review

I really enjoyed the placement. The team was really helpful and easy to get on, they increased the difficulty and responsibility of my tasks so that I was challenged while still finding the work entertaining. I had a wide variety of both office and site based tasks so I never got bored.

I was given tasks to do by myself that matched some of the responsibilities a site engineer would share. Throughout the placement I was consulted on how things were going to far and if there was anything I’d like to do/ improve on. Colleagues were always inclusive and happy to help.

The amount of support I received varied greatly depending on the stage of the placement. At the start I had significantly more support and this lessened further on in the summer as I wanted to take on more responsibility. Every time I got stuck there was multiple people there to help me.

How busy I was on a day to day basis varied greatly: some days would be so busy I barely had time to sit down and some days I had very little to do and had to continually ask if any jobs were available. On the whole I had a lot of tasks to do.

The amount of responsibility increased during the placement to match what myself and my team thought I could handle, it was a good transition. I went from shadowing to doing tasks unaided but with support and checking provided when needed/ necessary. I was left to do tasks alone however there was always someone nearby.

The placement added real life application to my studies and helped in understanding, particularly in structural choices for the works. In terms of surveying I had the opportunity to practice and improve on currently learnt skills, as well as learn new techniques with more advanced technology. I also learnt report writing, which became useful this year when uni taught it.

The general atmosphere was positive. Within the team it was friendly and you could talk to everyone. The team did a lot of non-working activities together such as trips, meals out etc. The building in general was very open plan so you could talk to anyone from another section or floor.

The organisation of the placement wasn’t organised particularly well. My placement was assigned to me at very short notice and when I arrived site induction and setting me up on the system was delayed. However, in terms of activities it was really well set up for a student, there was a large variety of jobs dependent upon what I wanted to gain from my time with the company.

I applied for my CSCS trainee card while on the placement which qualifies me to work on site for the next 4 years. I was also helped to partake in tasks that directly link to chartership in the future, such as writing and presenting my own site wide Health and Safety inspection.

I would really like to return for another summer placement, industrial placement, and potential graduate job with Kier. I enjoyed the company dynamic and how employees work together and feel that I fit in well. I would like to go into a contracting role on complex, exciting projects which the company offers.

I was sat at a desk next to employees of a more similar age so that I had people to socialise with. This included another first year student on placement. In the team, there were frequent social activities including breakfasts, meals out together, trips into central London and after work drinks.

Could not afford the cost of living so had to commute from home into London. This was do-able as the company paid for travel, otherwise it would not have been possible. The cost of socialising was expensive but due to the short time frame of the placement this was okay.

As I commuted in a long way, and the work hours were long I didn’t really experience much of the nightlife. However, there were a lot of bars to choose from and they were all an excellent standard.

Yes. There were frequent competitions and charity events within the site itself. There were also a lot of large group celebrations at local bars. Most of the activities partaken in were with the WTH team.