Safety support Review

Over my summer placement I was given the opportunity to carry out exciting work in a company with so many unique challenges. Every day was different, and I felt like the projects I was given were really designed to both utilise the skills I learnt during my degree, but also enable me to learn so much about the work being carried out by the company.

All of my colleagues were incredibly friendly and helpful. I immediately felt like one of the team, being able to chat to anyone. I felt like I was fully respected, and my colleagues never underestimated me. We even had a social at the end of my placement before I finished!

I felt like the projects I was given actually mattered towards the company, and it was important that they were carried out well. As a result, I felt I could go to absolutely any of my colleagues for help, and everyone was so enthusiastic and happy to ensure that I knew how to go about my work.

My workload was perfect for my 10 weeks of placement. Some tasks could be completed in a day, others required several days of planning, but it meant that i always had something I could work on. In addition, my colleagues always had something else I could be working on if I needed it!

I immediately felt like the work I was doing was actually contributing. I was treated like I had been working at the company for months, which enabled me to carry out tasks that had a lot of responsibility! I really enjoyed the chance to make a real difference for the company.

I have learnt so many valuable skills, particularly in communicating with others. A large part of my job was contacting other people and obtaining information from them, so i quickly learnt how to do this efficiently. In addition, having many tasks on the go at once really improved my organisational skills, as I was able to always stay on top of my progress with each task.

The atmosphere was both professional and relaxed. Everyone always had their own work to be doing, however it was friendly and i felt like I could interrupt anyone to ask them a quick question. It was also nice to be able to stop work for 5 minutes to have a quick chat to a colleague, as it wasn't always strict!

On day one we had an induction, which enabled me to ease myself into the company and learn a lot more about the site before actually starting in my office. The only slight struggle was finding accommodation for the placement, but there were plenty of spare rooms going so it wasn't that tricky!

I received a lot of personal training and guidance to enable me to carry out some of my tasks. I learnt a lot in the first two weeks of the placement, as I had a total of 6 days training in my first 10 days of work. This training enabled me to carry out a large amount of more complex tasks that i otherwise wouldn't have been able to do!

I have been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to return to the company on the graduate scheme. I am looking forward to going back and continuing with my work, as I enjoyed my summer placement so much that i couldn't really imagine myself anywhere else after my degree!

There were many other Summer Placement Students in other departments, in addition to many Industrial Placement Students too. There were many socials organised which allowed us all to really click, and so we could all meet up in our own time. It was nice being able to go to the beach and socialise with other students, as I thought everyone would be older than me!

Cumbria is incredibly cheap to live in. My rent was half of what I pay for my student house, and since the placement was so well paid it allowed me to fully maximise my time there by socialising as much as I could! All the pubs were reasonably priced, so it enabled me to really enjoy myself outside of work too.

The closest town had a lot of pubs, which suited me well, however there wasn't much in terms of actual clubs. I much rather enjoy just a casual night in the pub, however the clubs shut at 2 so it wasn't as ideal if you would prefer to stay out late.

The company organised a lot of extra opportunities, such as football, and trips to other companies. There were also other groups nearby such as battle reenactment etc. Since the town isn't far from Carlisle, there are many extra activities there that are easy to take part in if you look for them!