Quality Placement Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed the projects I've had a chance to get involved in and complete, with opportunity to both feel like I've been able to contribute towards the company's success, and also towards my own learning to take back to uni. I have had a good mix of computer work and practical shop floor work which I have also enjoyed.

I've felt very integrated into a team, with support from my colleagues for my individual projects and the chance to get involved in other projects that my colleagues are a part of. Being able to feel like I'm adding value with other projects as well as my own has helped me feel integrated and valued.

I've had regular review meetings with my manager, running through a PowerPoint presentation documenting where I have got to with each of my projects, which has then provided plenty of opportunity for support from my manager, with guidance on both the work that I'm doing and also my presentation style.

Busy. Looking at other placement students within the business I feel like because I am able to be genuinely useful it has opened up opportunities for more work and, whilst others have been left to it at times, I have been able to move fairly seamlessly from one project to the next. There are always quiet moments sometimes but overall I feel pleased with the amount of work I've had.

I was given a list of projects that required completion within the company and allowed the opportunity to choose the order in which I wanted to complete them and how to go about them. This was maybe more flexible than a real working world scenario but gave me the opportunity to fully immerse myself in projects that were actually of value to the company.

Currently I can't comment on how much what I've learnt will affect my future but I've learnt a huge amount in the last 12 months, especially regarding my own confidence in being able to complete a complex task successfully. This will no doubt be useful in the future, and will hopefully give me a head start in the working world once I finish my degree.

Everyone in my office had also just moved around when I first joined so I've had the opportunity to integrate myself with new people at the same time as everyone else. There is a friendly atmosphere, with the feeling that I can always ask anyone around me for help if I require it.

The basic organization has always been very good, with the structure of the first few weeks of my placement having been very good. At times I have felt like people around me are deciding on the spot what I need to do, but this can also be attributed to the fact that I am the first placement student the department has had.

Any training that doesn't cost the company money has been an option for me, and I was able to go to Peterborough site to complete a training course with some site specialists there. However, I have asked for some training that's not been allowed because it would cost the company money and they haven't got the guarantee that they'd get anything back out of it.

The site doesn't always feel like it's got a future within Caterpillar, which is the only future concern I may have. I enjoy the job and have been offered a conditional placement, provided there is a suitable gap in the company for me to be able to be employed by them.

Amongst other placement students and colleagues yes, however I commute a fairly long distance to work and have found it difficult to find/afford transport for most social occasions. The company has however been involved in some local charity work which I have and will happily got involved in as my placement continues.

I have commuted from a town where I have lived for 18 months already, my living costs have been affordable but a car has definitely been a must, both for myself and other placement students living more locally. Public transport is next to non-existent where I live, meaning I drive almost everywhere.

Ok, it's a large town not a city, lots of pubs not a lot of clubs.

Charity work, not loads of other opportunities.