Finance Industrial Placement Student Review

I have really enjoyed the whole of my placement year. The people I worked with have all been a key part to how much I enjoyed it, as everybody has been friendly and keen to help my development in any way they can. The training that was provided as part of the placement scheme has also been really useful. Within my role I have managed to gain at least some experience in all of the areas I was hoping to.

I have definitely felt valued by all my colleagues throughout the whole year. Good work was recognised and I was given tasks that I felt actually added value. My team quickly made me feel like a valued member of the team, giving me responsibility and having the same expectations as they would with anybody else while still always being aware that I am a placement student and may need some more support with some tasks.

The support I was given couldn't have been better. My supervisor always had time to explain and talk me through things when I had any issues, and was happy to offer guidance on how I could approach tasks, while still giving me the freedom to get on with work myself. I found that this was the same with all of the managers I worked with in Cadent, I could always ask questions and a lot of time was spent explaining why we did things, which really helped me gain more understanding of processes.

I have found that my workload has suited the stage I was at in the placement scheme- at first I had less work, which allowed me to get to know people and learn more about the company. The workload gradually increased, and after the first month or so of easing into work I have always had work to be doing- I haven't found myself bored at any point, but equally haven't felt that I have been over faced.

The amount of responsibility I was given worked well for me. As a placement student I wouldn't be comfortable with having a huge amount of responsibility over important processes, however I was given ownership of a couple of smaller processes/tasks- giving me the experience of having responsibility without too much pressure. I was given responsibility slowly, as I gained confidence in my role and was able to deal with problems myself, so I wasn't thrown into it too quickly.

I have definitely gained skills that will help me in my final year at university, such as team working and presentation skills as well as a practical application of the theory we learn at university. The training courses provided as a part of the placement scheme were really helpful with developing skills that helped me throughout the year, such as communicating with people across the business, and will be helpful to have once I am back in work after university.

I really enjoyed going into the office, as I found it a nice environment, with a positive atmosphere, to work in. It was quiet enough that you could focus on work without being distracted, but I also always felt comfortable enough to ask questions, and found plenty of time to chat to colleagues. We had regular team meetings, with team building activities in them, which improved the atmosphere as we had good relationships across the team

The placement scheme was well organised. The training sessions that were part of the placement were useful, I found that they were spaced well across the year.

Lots of time was invested into my personal development. We had reviews each quarter, for which we were encouraged to think about development and how we could develop further. I also had regular 1 to 1s with my manager, which were often focussed around my personal development and what opportunities I could take for working on areas I felt needed more improvement. The training courses were also helpful for personal development. We had the same trainer for each of them who got to know us all, and as it was a small group could give us all time at each session to discuss our own development.

There were a few occasions through the year where we, with the other new talent programmes, were invited to social events outside of work, which were good fun and a good way to get to know each other better.

There was lots of options for living in the area, some starting quite cheap. The university it would've been possible to live in student accommodation also.

I had opportunities to get involved with activities both with others from the placement scheme and with my team.