IT Business Planning Review

I have enjoyed working at Vauxhall as there has been a lot of new and different opportunities compared to other jobs I applied for before being accepted at Vauxhall

I feel very valued as people are comfortable talking to me and asking me to help them with tasks, I think this shows they trust my ability to do my job as well as assist with other jobs

I am given a lot of support even though my manager is in Germany, as he calls me regularly and is open to me asking questions. I also have a supervisor in the UK who helps me when I have any questions about anything in the office

I am quite busy, although it fluctuates quite often as sometimes there is a lot of work due at short notice, and other times there is less to do, although I usually ask other people in the office if they have any work for me, which gives me more experiences and has meant I have learnt more during my time here.

I am given quite a lot of responsibility as my manager is in Germany, so I do not always speak to him daily, therefore I have to manage my own time. I also helped create presentations that were presented to the President of General Motors, as well as creating the presentations and joining European Business meetings.

As the placement is not directly linked to the course I study, I do not think it will help with the work I will be doing in final year. I do feel I have gained valuable skills whilst being here such as better organisation, time keeping and presentation skills. I also feel that I have gained a lot of confidence whilst working here and I think this will help after I graduate, as well as when applying to graduate jobs.

I think the general atmosphere is great, as there is a good mix of undergraduates, managers and other staff. I speak to quite a few different people and even when speaking to a new colleague, everyone is happy to help if they can.

I think it was very well organised, especially as there is quite a lot of undergraduates on placement at Vauxhall. It was great having the tours of the different parts of Vauxhall such as the Plant and Warehouse, as I work in the headquarters these are sections I would not normally see. I think there is a good set up at the beginning (the handover) to make sure that there is an opportunity for everyone to get to know one another in a relaxed environment.

I have taken part in a variety of different training, ranging from a safe driver course to GM Enable which teaches about the different business models. There is also an opportunity to do online training for a variety of different topics.

There is not a specific graduate scheme but there are opportunities to apply for jobs on the website, and from a final presentation, from what I understand, managers may express an interest in offering a job

There were around 80 undergraduates working on placement so there was a lot of opportunities to socialise, starting from the two week handover where there were events every night. Throughout the year there have also been other opportunities to socialise as well.

Vauxhall helped with finding houses and the house we rent is less than £300 a month which I think is very reasonable, there are quite a lot of cheap places to shop and go out also in Luton.

There is not that much of a nightlife, even though it is a student town.

There have been a few opportunities to get involved outside of work, such as working in a school for a day to promote Vauxhall, promoting the undergraduate scheme at universities as well as CSR days which involve helping out in the community for a day.