Industrial Placement - Operations, Manufacturing & Production Review

I enjoyed living in Glasgow for my placement with BAE Systems Naval Ships. I had never been to Scotland before and it was a great opportunity to live somewhere different. Its a good area as the placement is located in a major city. The people that work for BAE Systems Naval Ships are great people. Though a lot or in the older generation. But a decent number of interns and grads to befriend. That said my work with Operations was dissatisfying the first 2 months and only improved with time once I got active in chasing real work. Pay was also very good

In the first 2 months of my internship I felt surplus. Everyone was very friendly and open, but a lot of the time it was clear that they were given me work so I wouldn't be bored and they didn't actually need me. But later I moved to a different team within Operations where they immediately got me involved with a project and begun giving me responsibility to do valuable work

I think this was mainly due to the nature of my specific placement in Operations, but I was given a lot of freedom to move around within my department and plenty of help from almost anyone I asked. If given a task I could just ask people to point me in the right direction and help me out. When I wanted to get involved with other teams to learn what they did, plenty were happy to accommodate me and give me a flavour of what they do. It was good support.

This was a huge variation. Especially in the initial month of the placement there were full days where I had nothing to do whatsoever and all I could do was wait for email responses and read up on the company. This improved down the line, but even then there would be times where nothing really got done and you had to ask for more work to keep motivated. It could feel excessively lax at times

I personally think I was granted an appropriate level of responsibility initially as I knew nothing about shipbuilding and how it works so it makes sense I was given low level tasks while I learnt how the business worked. But after 6 weeks I was in the ship yard helping someone using a machine that's essentially completely automated. When I did gain more responsibility it was to a degree where I was a deputy of someone. Given a fair amount of responsibility but nothing major

I suppose they will assist me most likely when I'm looking for a graduate job. Team building training will assist me in university projects and work life. I know how to weld and burn things to a basic level now. I know better the inner workings of a large business and that kind of experience is invaluable

It's a general positive atmosphere with certain areas being more lively than others. My first office in Govan was my favourite as the guys always had jokes, we ate lunch at a table together, and I just liked the atmosphere. The second office was in the fabrication shop and it was much more subdued, mainly because a lot of the guys were old and I wasn't Scottish. Difference in world views. Lovely people though

I t had a good structure initial plan and set up. However like all plans it didn't survive the vrash with reality and I had to start carving my own path through the placement. I t was not that well-done but they did ask for feedback so I'll address any concerns. The main problem is the timing of each placement. A month and a half is not enough time to learn and get good at working with a team

The company invested in me by sending me on a trip to climb Ben Nevis and unfortunately we didn't because a member of our group had medical issues. However through the outward bound course at loch eil which the company payed for i feel we excelled and developed som team building skills, as well as time management and cooperation

The cost of living for me wasabout £470 excluding bills. Thtas in the scotstoun area where i was based. For others living nearer to the university and city centre it could rise up to £700 per month. In terms of socialising its best you download the mcity first bus app in order to purchase bus tickets as it works out much cheaper. Drinking and such is much less expensive than london. But so is everywhere

Not great for afrobeats but there will be places everyone likes. Its abig city