HR Department (Central) Review

I really enjoyed my placement year at Vauxhall and found the experience to be really valuable in not only teaching me the practicalities of the workplace but also transferrable soft skills. Throughout my year I have had the opportunities to develop as an individual and also as part of a team working on projects. I've also had the oportunity the be involved in other areas of the business outside of my department.

I felt very valued on my placement and was often praised for the work that I was doing by my colleagues. I feel that I was trusted with a great deal of responsibility and as such felt a welcomed addition to the team.

At Vauxhall we have a mentoring scheme where each undergraduate is assigned a mentor from someone in a different department to the one you are working in. It's good to know that if you don't feel as if you can approach your manager with a problem you have someone else you could approach. I also had a bi-weekly 1-1 meeting with my manager in which we discussed what I was working on at the time and any progress being made. When my manager was out of the office the general HR team were very supportive and everyone is approachable regardless of the problem you are facing.

My job has waves of exceptionally busy periods and those that are quieter. Regardless of this, I have always had enough work to keep me busy when at work. In my busy periods the team were also very supportive and offered their assitance if I so wished.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility on my placement - more than I could of imagined before I started. I was responsibile for looking after projects and also dealt with a lot of confidential information.

This placement has taught me a lot of transferrable skills. For example I am now much more confident in delivering presentations and have the ability to negotiate with internal and external customers. We also received excel and safe driver training within the first few weeks of starting. As I'm in HR I also received interview training which was extrememly valuable and I have since interviewed hundreds of candidates for a variety of roles.

The atmosphere is friendly and everyone is very approachable regardless of what problem it is you may be facing. We often do things as a team whether that be celebrating a team members birthday or another occasion. I believe the atmosphere in the office has enhanced my placement experience.

I believe the placement is very well organised from the minute you have accepted a position. A month before the placement begins Vauxhall host two open days. The first gives you the opportunity to meet everyone and on the second you get to look for housing if you are going to be relocating. Vauxhall put a housing pack together of recommended houses which gives you a good starting point. There is a handover period of 2 weeks in which you are taught the job by the undergraduate you are taking over from and also receive relevant training. During these first two weeks there is the opportunity to stay in university halls which are approx 5 minute walk away from the HQ where alot of undergraduates are based. In addition there is a social activity planned for every evening of handover which allows you to meet all the others on placement with you.

In the first few weeks every undergraduate receives excel training, presentation training and safe driver training - all of which are valuable. After this and as the year progresses, more relevant training to the job role is given. A lot of the 'training' is on the job and may be on specific software used in your particular role. As previously mentioned, all placement students in HR are given interview training which was insightful especially when thinking about graduate applications! There is also the opportunity to shadow other departments which is great if you want to see how something else works before you leave.

Unfortunetley Vauxhall do not have a strict graduate scheme. However, they do treat the placement year as a year long interview. As a result there is the opportunity to come back if a vacancy were to arise, not only in the year you graduate but for the years to come.

At Vauxhall there are around 100 placement students, 80 of which are based in Luton. In addition there is an apprenticeship scheme and so there are plenty of similar aged employees across the business. In terms of living arrangements, all those that have relocated share houses much in the same way as you do at university which certainly makes the prospect of moving somewhere new a lot less daunting. The social side was really good throughout the year as it was always someones birthday or something planned to do in the evenings/ weekends.

I would say the cost of living is pretty standard. I currently pay £350 a month in a 5 bedroom house (all doubles) and our bills are all included. We have paid slightly more than some of the other houses but we are very happy with the one we have! Going out to eat/drink is also pretty standard to anywhere else.

Luton itself is not the best place for a night out, but as there are so many of you going out its always a good night. There are plenty of other places to go too, St Albans and Watford are close and London is only a short train ride away.

Every month Vauxhall plan something which all employees are invited too. Whether this be a team quiz, go karting or inter department rounders. These are a really good oppportunity to socialise with members of your team who perhaps you don't have much to do with in the workplace. There are also CSR days and charity events to get involved in, for example many are doing the London to Brighton Cycle ride. In the evenings there is the opportunity to play football and rugby with colleagues and others across the business.