Press and Die Undergraduate Engineer Review
by Vauxhall
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
3.6
-
The Company
2.9
-
The Culture
2.3
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I enjoyed the engineering side of my placement very much. In the press shop you are very much left to your own devices it's what you do in that time that makes you stand out. I was lucky/unlucky enough to be here during a model launch. A very stressful time but definitely the busiest for engineers. I even got to work abroad in Germany. No job is perfect and this one has it's flaws. The canteen food in the factory is terrible and I can't stress enough that you NEED to opt out of the pension plan as early as you can.
My colleagues were by far the best part of the placement. My immediate team are a fantastic and diverse bunch with a good sense of humour (a pre-requisite for manufacturing). The team consists of managers, engineers and Kaizen Co-ordinators. A lot of the team have worked up from factory floor level and have a wealth of experience to tap into. They always guarantee that you never eat lunch on your own either!
Due to the launch of the new car my immediate manager has been very busy. You are very much expected to find yourself things to do as you would in a real job. My manager always had to time to discuss issues I had and always accommodated me in the best way he could. That said due to the launch year everybody is busy and it can sometimes be hard trying to catch him between meetings.
This is a bit up and down. Some days you can be run off your feet helping to implement changes or repair problems. Other times you can be at a loss of what to do next, during these times I went down on to the shop floor and got involved in things like machining and welding and if that wasn't going on just picking up a brush and helping the lads in the tool room clear up helped keep you busy and improve your colleague releationships.
The answer here is short, a lot! I was solely responsible for accounting/recording scrap.
Not a lot will help you with your final year but a lot of the workplace culture experience will help in a graduate job such as dealing with trade unions, other departments and also departments abroad.
The Company
Very humorous and enjoyable.
Not very unfortunately. Whilst you are treated as an employee by your team others see you as a temporary face. There are very few formal training schemes for you to get on and you are expected to get yourself involved. The pension plan is also not built for undergrads so opt out as soon as you can.
I completed a problem solving course and a compulsory speed awareness course.
Subsidised Canteen
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
Very.
The Culture
Not really.
Fair prices on rent in Birkenhead
Not my thing.
Yes but not through the company.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
North West
May 2015
