It was a great experience and one of the things I loved most was the placement community; we were a cohort of around 18 placement students and we had socials and events throughout the year to get to know each other and it was an excellent community.
I felt greatly valued being part of a smaller team initially but even after changes to our team, I always had the same level of support and engagement.
There were a lot of support available from HR's Future Talent team to my line manager who had weekly catch-up meetings with me.
First few months were really settling into the role and the days weren't busy but once the induction was over, I was responsible for more tasks and was involved in advanced projects towards the latter end of the placement.
A lot of training opportunities were available. I was able to undertake ITIL v3 Foundation and PRINCE2 project management qualification as well few others around Presentation skills etc.
Culture was good in the office with friendly people and everyone, no matter which team/department they were in, were happy to help me and spend time going through what they do etc. Unfortunately, there were some changes to my team during my placement and few people left the team in my location which did make me feel isolated at times. On the other hand, I was able to work more closely with team members based in other sites and was often given opportunities to travel and work on multiple tasks.
It was very well organised with a very good induction package with a lot of objectives to complete within the first few weeks. Even afterwards, there were various opportunities for me to attend recommended workshops and training courses to help develop my career.
This was probably my favorite part of the placement as I was able to take part in industry recognized training qualifications which the company fully paid for. There was also multiple opportunities for me to speak to specialists in various parts of the company to learn more about certain tools and software.
Company Parties/Events
A great people centered culture where you will feel valued so I will definitely want to come back and work for Computacenter.
Yes, I shared a flat with another placement student and there were around 12 of us based in Hatfield, the head office. It was a good community where we were able to organise many socials in London and were part of a 'Freshminds' community which consists of industrial placements, graduates and associates.
You can find cheaper accommodation farther away if you drive but I stayed close to the business part and it was quite expensive (£600 pcm). However, the accommodation I stayed in was quite nice and was close to shops and the business park so it depends on where you choose to live.
Not a lot in Hatfield itself, but if you take a 25 mins train to London, then there are lots!
We organised a few activities outside of work as placements. Other than that, the big corporate event was the Christmas do which was excellent and we were able to meet senior managers in the business as well.
Placement Year (10 Months+)
Business Analytics, Business Management, Financial Management, Information Technology
Greater London
October 2019