Sourcing Specialist Placement - Darlington Review

I have extremely enjoyed my time at Cummins and would definitely return. The experience is very different to University and it has been a good transition into working life.

Everybody in my department was very appreciative of the work which I have been helping with from day to day tasks to supporting on projects. I felt very valued as members of staff would make an effort to get me involved in different types of work which I may not have had a chance to experience, and help me make the most of my placement year. Everybody in the department was very friendly and I was able to fit into the team well.

The support which you have on the placement programme is fantastic. Placement students have a HR Representative which they can go directly to should they have any issues, and also support of their managers. Weekly 1:1's with my manager have been a great help especially if there was anything which I needed guidance on, there is always somebody to go to if help is needed.

My workload was continuously monitored by myself and my manager. As I have progressed throughout the year my workload has increased as I have become better at managing my time and become involved in a wider range of departmental activities.

The responsibility which I have been given has increased throughout the year, after showing that I am capable and keen to learn more about the department. I was given two projects to work on during the year on top of my day to day tasks, which allowed me to work with other departments within the plant and gain some cross functional experience.

The experience which I have had at Cummins has been invaluable to me and I feel a lot more prepared for working life after University. I will take a lot back to University from my experience as real life working examples of University topics is a lot better than textbook examples. I will be able to apply University theory to the situations which I have myself been in during my time on placement.

The office is a good working environment, quiet to be able to get on with work, but everybody in the office knows how to have a good laugh now and again.

The placement year was very well structured with a student development plan consisting of training courses, 1:1's with managers and HR. We were also provided with opportunities to present to senior leadership to increase our visibility in the plant. The students also met on a fortnightly basis to organise events and raise money for local charities, which was a good experience. The year was very well organised.

The company invested a lot of time an effort into all of the placement students, and offered additional training upon request if this met your opportunities for development.

Would definitely come back!

There were 14 other students at Darlington plant and everybody got along well.

The cost of living was pretty low as I lived at home and travelled into the plant, however Darlington is a cheap area to live.

The nightlife in Darlington is average; however Newcastle and Durham are close by and are a good night out.

There are a lot of opportunities outside of work to go out with the other students. Some of the students completed the Yorkshire 3 peaks as part of the charity fundraising so there is always plenty going on to get involved in.