Electrical Engineering Summer Placement Review

by Tata Steel

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.6/5
  • The Role
    3.8
  • The Company
    3.8
  • The Culture
    3.1

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I really enjoyed my summer placement with Tata Steel. I had not done a proper structured work placement before so don't have anything to compare it with. I really enjoyed being in a new environment, learning lots of new thing and making some great friends. I was based in Port Talbot which is the biggest UK site so there were lots of other students there which was really nice.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I felt like I was appreciated there. The induction was extensive and time was taken to show me around site and all the IT systems. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of time everyone was willing to invest in me. Senior engineers would be giving their time to teach me things.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • My mentor was not the most talkative man, however, the team I was in was great and looked after me well. Most of the engineers enjoyed offloading their wisdom and wanted to teaching me about the trade, business and wider industry. There is always a HR contact outside of the department that you can contact if you have any problems

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • Sometimes I was lacking work to do. With my mentor I had to keep badgering him for extra work whereas some students had mentors who would check up on them, ensuring they always had something to do. I never found that I had too much work to do, projects generally move quite slow here but that is probably true for the whole industry.

    3/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • Given the nature of the business, an intern will never be given that much responsibility within the steel making process as it is critical to the business. Parts of the manufacturing line can cost the business millions of pounds every day it is not operating for. There is an opportunity for students though to make a real impact on supporting services such as helping develop a VR training system.

    3/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I believe that I have developed a number of life skills, skills that are not necessarily taught but are acquired through real world experience, such as communication skills and time management. Some experiences have helped me to understand and reinforce ideas taught in my degree. There is good opportunity to develop your technical knowledge through courses that they offer if you wanted to.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • General atmosphere in my office was good. People felt calm and relax but motivated as well.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The placement was very well organised. The week long induction was great as you got to understand the company and what they do, which can sometimes gets lost in a company this size. HR have made sure that we have been supported through out the placement. IT equipment, PPE and everything you needed was ready for you from the start.

    5/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I found that the company invested in me, in terms of how much time they put into me to learn new things and go on new courses. My mentor didn't set any objectives for me like he was meant to but I have found that I have learnt a lot of skills required to work well within a business.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Above 25 days holiday

    3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I am yet to hear whether I have got a job at the end of it all but I have heard they often look to offer you a job as this is one of their recruitment strategies to get young talent into the company.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • I was based on the biggest site, Port Talbot, so there were lots of other students here as well. There were no official socials within the group but if you go out your way to make friends then you can easily form a group and go to the pub or something.

    5/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The cost of accommodation I found was quite cheap. I just used airbnb which was about 25 mins drive from site and was only £20 a night. You get paid a pretty basic salary so you might find a good proportion of that gets spent during your placement but on the whole I haven't spent much.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • No nightlife in Port Talbot. Would recommend going to Swansea or Cardiff for that sort of thing.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • Yes there are opportunities to go to networking events or help fundraise for charity.

    3/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

International

July 2019


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