Assistant, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Affairs Review

The job is split into two halves, one being the charity side and the other being the environmental. The charity side focuses on replying to charitable requests, giving funding to charities that apply and managing the relationship with our Corporate Charity Partner Motor Neurone Disease Association. The environmental side involves collecting the utilities for the building including electricity, gas, water, waste and travel and then reporting on this data. We look at how we can reduce this usage year on year. Both parts of this role have quarterly reporting and also tasks to do each week and month in preparation for them.

This year in industry has not only helped develop the skills I have learnt at University such as presentation, excel, PowerPoint and communication skills but also taught me new skills such as project management, how to run meetings and to always question if there is a better way to do something. Project management is one of the most important skills you will learn in this role as you become solely responsible for all your projects such as running Dream Car and coordinating the selection process for the new Charity Partner.

From the beginning, you take ownership for your projects but with support. It is a case of coming up with a plan of action and using the support of your manager and team to ensure you are heading in the right direction. By half way through the placement you become confident enough to do this off your own accord.

With daily, monthly and quarterly tasks the support was always there when you asked for it. However, weekly 1-2-1s and monthly reviews meant that support was constant and assistance was given at every opportunity. Weekly and monthly team meetings also meant that everyone in our wider team were aware of the projects you are running and would offer support and guidance at every occasion.

Before I began this placement, I could never have imagined the friendly and welcoming atmosphere that is Toyota. Senior Management go out of their way to introduce themselves and find out about you, and this is even when I was only going to be there for a year. The cleaners and kitchen staff are exactly the same, offering a hand or chat whenever you walk past. There are many social events on offer, from team away days to Sports and Social events such as quizes and theatre trips.

I always hear people say that their placement year was the best year of their life and never would I have imagined a year of work could be but my god they were right. It was a particularly different year for me due to the pandemic and the company culture was clear to me through the team meetings, chats and quizes to get me through lockdown.

Yes

If you are thinking about this placement, absolutely go for it. The job is great fun and pushes you to do things you never thought you could, preparing you for future. Ultimately though it is the company values and people that make it better than you could imagine.