Chemical Annual Placement Review

Being based centrally the day is spent predominantly in the office. How busy the day was depended on the time of year and what projects you get involved with. Daily tasks involve attending meetings, forming excel spreadsheets with graphs and calculations, research and report writing, on site inspections, liaising with contractor companies.

I've learned many people skills, how to appropriately communicate with fellow employees managers, external companies etc. I have improved my speaking skills by giving quarterly presentation updates to the development team and fellow graduates. I have gained insight into new topics such as process safety and refractory work.

I was given a lot of freedom during my placement. I had responsibilities such as producing safety reports, providing calculations as evidence to management of change requests, researching into new technology to install on plant.

The support at TATA was 100%, each graduate is given a mentor and line manager as 2 direct points of contact. They are there for your everyday queries and guidance. There is also a broader development team who track your competency progress. 8-weekly meetings with this team are held for feedback and a wellbeing check -up.

The general atmosphere was great in the office. Working alongside a different department ensured I make connections and network. Everyone was friendly and welcoming and always extended a hand should you ask for it.

I really enjoyed my placement, it was a good introduction into real working life. As a student who has never held a full time job before it was a great opportunity to get a taster before finishing my degree and diving into a graduate job.

Yes

A really big thing that sets you apart in the interview process is to show enthusiasm. TATA want to see that you are passionate about helping the business and looking towards the future. There was not much emphasis on what you know just how you come across as a person.