Industrial Placement Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement year at Cadent Gas, I was able to develop both personally and professionally in ways I never expected. My manager was really supportive with my development and ensured all opportunities provided to me were in line with the objectives I set myself at the start of the placement. I got involved in various projects that inevitably added value to the overall organisation and was able to gain responsibility to lead the projects to a deliverable stage.

Cadent has an overall great supportive, community feel and everyone I met during my placement year were more than welcoming. They recognised I was a placement student so were willing to go and above and beyond to support me in my journey. Being given tasks that held additional responsibilities showed how much colleagues valued the program I was on. Colleagues were more than willing to step in and assist in times when I had additional problems and questions with the work I had been provided.

My manager was great in supporting me during my placement year and providing me with additional support and guidance. From the offset, the line manager I had been aligned to sat down with me and discussed in depth my goals/ aspirations for the year and the work I would be interested in to reach these goals. He ensured the work he gave me was relevant to my degree subject and checked in with my regularly to ensure I was remaining on track and was feeling ok.

Throughout the year my workload fluctuated depending on what projects/ tasks I had going on, however this suited me as when I had a quieter week I could then go and find my own opportunities to develop (this is more than encouraged throughout Cadent). Towards the end of my placement, I took on a new role that meant I became much more busy, however I really enjoyed being busy as it was the most rewarding experience I had over the whole of my placement.

Through my involvement in various projects I feel I was given a sufficient amount of responsibility. My first project which outlined the bulk of my year held a good deal of responsibility as I was conducting the project individually and had the scope to design/ change the course of the project were I felt was suitable- I found this very beneficial. Towards the end of my placement I began to lead my own small team which involved tons of responsibility.

As mentioned previously, the work I was provided linked in well with my degree studies, however the broader 'softer skills' and personal/ professional competencies gained such as leadership, confidence, communication, problem solving, making decisions etc. will have a substantial impact/ benefit when I go back to university and into future employment. I tracked my develop on all of these competencies and was encouraged by my manager to make a plan of how I will continue developing these competencies when I return to University in September.

I was based in the customer centre which is where emergency calls are taken. Despite the bulk of the office being made up as a call centre, it was nothing like what I would expect a call centre to be like. The atmosphere was calm and an overall positive place to work. I felt I could concentrate on my own workload, yet there was also the opportunity to get involved in various fun activities at certain points of the year.

The placement year was set up really well. There was a new talent team who organised/ planned the placement year and placed us in our respective work placements. There was a great training package throughout the year focusing on both the specific organisation and developing wider competencies of which I found was really beneficial. Interaction provided a training program which aligned well to stage of our placement we were currently in, with the same representative getting to know us and supporting us throughout the year.

It was clear the company really valued my personal and professional development. As mentioned previously, my manager tracked my development closely over the year focusing on a range of different competencies and supporting me with finding opportunities that supported these. Also, there was a great training package developed by the personal development team over the year focusing on both personal and professional development. This ran across the whole of the year at various points which was very beneficial.

The future prospects within the company are fantastic. It is emphasised at the beginning of the placement, if performance Is good there will be potential to be offered a place on the graduate scheme at the end of the year. Also, it is clear in/around he organisation that development is encouraged and it is great to see individuals that have been with the company for various years and have developed into managerial roles from schemes like this.

There were a number of occasions throughout the year whereby it was encouraged we get together as a cohort outside of work. As a good part of the placement year was occurring alongside the pandemic, towards the end of the year this was unfortunately not possible. However, before this, there was a range of social activities to get involved in outside of work including go karting, rock climbing, Christmas meals etc. which were enjoyable, social events.