Paint Unit Sealer Engineering Undergraduate Review

I have really enjoyed my placement here at Vauxhall, I have particularly enjoyed the responsibility that has been given to me. I have also enjoyed working with the staff as they have been friendly and willing to help when I have required assistance. The only reason I haven't enjoyed it as much as possible is that I have a few repetitive tasks that can be very time consuming and boring at times.

I get on very well with my colleagues, they are always willing to help in times of need and have never let me struggle on my own. I feel I can talk freely to my colleagues and that they have a good level of trust in my abilities. Whilst on placement at Vauxhall I have never come across a member of staff that has been difficult to work with or caused me any issues.

What I have enjoyed most about this placement is the opportunity to work freely on projects that have been assigned to me. It has been expected of me to go find answers rather than having them handed to me on a plate. However at times when I have been unable to progress with a project or I have found it difficult to find an answer, help has always been provided either by my manager or one of my colleagues.

How busy I am fluctuates to some degree depending on what is happening in the plant. If everything is running smoothly then I have enough work every week to keep me busy. If we are having issues then I find myself very busy and sometimes unable to complete all the tasks that I have been set that week. At time I wish I would have less work in order to enable me to work on longer projects that have been assigned to me.

I feel the level of responsibility I was provided with was huge, at the start of the year I found this level of responsibility very worrying however as the year has gone on I have grown to enjoy this responsibility. The pressure of working with so much responsibility has definitely motivated me to work as hard as possible this year in order to prove to myself and others that I can handle the pressure.

The engineering content of my placement has been very different to the content on my University course and so in that respect I don't think this year will assist me in my degree studies. However this year has been very valuable in other ways, I have learnt how to work efficiently and I am now far more competent at managing my time to suit my work load. This year has also changed my work ethic as I now see that if I work as hard at University as I have this year I will be able to accomplish a lot more than I have in previous years.

Generally speaking the atmosphere in the office has been serious and work focused but at the same time it has been light hearted and comfortable. I feel that if I need to have a serious talk with a colleague then I am able to do so but I also feel able to have more socially orientated conversations when my work load isn't too much.

Everything on my placement has run very smoothly from start to finish. I feel that I was provided with the right amount of training at the start of my job and I found it very easy getting to know the people that work in my unit. So far my placement has run without any major faults and I have felt supported throughout my entire time here at Vauxhall.

I have had multiple opportunities this year to carry out training exercises and courses which massively boosted my knowledge of the department that I work in. Vauxhall even invested in sending me to Germany for training course which I found to be very insightful and a great team building exercise. Vauxhall have invested a great deal in training me to become a better engineer and therefore better at my job.

Despite enjoying my year here at Vauxhall I don't feel that this job is right for me on a more permanent basis. I have ambitions of becoming an engineer in some form of Motorsport, failing this however I would definitely consider a permanent job here at Vauxhall.

There are 20 Undergraduates at the Ellesmere Port plant and so therefore plenty of opportunity for social interaction out side of work. I have had a good relationship with the vast majority of my fellow students doing everything from playing football after work to enjoying the local nightlife. 5 of us undergraduates have become good enough friends to warrant going on a trip to Belgium in August to watch the Formula 1.

Chester is very good for socializing, there are plenty of shops and bars to spend time in however because Chester is a pleasant area to live in it is relatively expensive compared to other local areas. The rent and bills on the house we are staying in however are very reasonable as Chester is very student orientated area.

The nightlife in Chester is good as there are many different bars to experience, throughout the year we have been on multiple undergraduate nights out which have all been great fun. Even if Chester is not suited to everyone's tastes, Liverpool is a short distance away which can satisfy almost everyone's tastes.

The only opportunities that I was involved with outside of work were through other undergraduates and myself planning activities such as football after work or a trip to the cinema at the weekend. Usually we would participate in one or two social activities per week.