Student Power System Engineer Review

My Industrial Placement Year with National Grid will be something I will always remember, for all the right reasons. I can't stress enough how valuable it has been to my development and future career prospects to spend a full year gaining real-world experience in a highly reputable, multinational engineering company.

National Grid prides itself on being diverse and inclusive. Regardless of my relatively young age and developing abilities, I felt included and valued by my colleagues; both in my team, department, and further afield throughout the business.

For me, one of the best bits about National Grid's Industrial Placement Scheme was the extensive, well established support structure. I had a dedicated HR Development Program Leader, Business Coordinator and a Graduate "Buddy", as well as my line manager. Throughout my experience, I felt supported in all aspects, whether it be my day-to-day roles, training, career development or anything else.

As with most jobs, there is a workload cycle, whether it be daily, weekly, monthly or annually. In my role, the workload cycle was annual, however many smaller projects were unforeseeable and issued at relatively short notice, each demanding different levels of commitment. However, I always felt the baseline workload was sufficient enough to keep relatively busy and still develop.

I was extremely surprised by the level of responsibility I was given during my placement. Above the core responsibilities every National Grid employee shares, I worked on a variety of projects that I had significant responsibilities in, such as a technical/financial assessment for Ofgem, technical studies of the National Electricity Transmission System, coordinating a large industry stakeholder event, and coordinating weekly team activities as part of the main annual process.

I believe the skills I developed and the training I received during my Industrial Placement Year with National Grid has proved to be incredibly valuable to my future studies and career opportunities. Being a part of a major business such as National Grid has not only provided me with specific, degree related knowledge but also allowed me to develop my softer skills, wider business and industry knowledge, plus the chance to build a professional network.

The office atmosphere was professional but friendly. It was relatively quiet as well, but not uncomfortably so.

I thought the Industrial Placement Scheme structure was excellent and very well organized.

Most of the personal training was within day-to-day role, with support of my team who are all engineers and some are experienced technical specialists. National Grid's vast array of training courses was also available on request, so this was more down to the individual. In terms of development, this was also self-driven, however their were vast opportunities to exploit, whether it be site visits, external stakeholder engagement, or collaborating within other areas of the business.

Very appealing career prospects. Potential for a graduate position depending on industrial placement progress reviews.

The Industrial Placement Scheme and Graduate Development Program both had various social event throughout the year. There are also various social groups within each team/department.

The cost of living/socializing was probably slightly above average. However with that comes a vary nice area to live it.

Nightlife was adequate, but as not in a major city, it was limited.

There were many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, apart from the usual, there was rowing/canoeing and a race course.