Operations Review

I found the whole 12 month experience to be thoroughly enjoyable. All aspects of the placement, from the role itself to the social side of working at Eaton, were a great experience for me. I soon began to realise that if you really apply yourself and endear yourself to the people you're working with, there's no reason why you can't have fun at work.

All Eaton employees that I had interaction with treated me like another member of the team. The internship scheme is highly thought of by everyone working at Eaton and therefore they appreciate that you are the talent for the future. The easiest way that I could identify whether I was valued by my colleagues was the work that they gave me; I was often given complex tasks or jobs with a tight deadline, which showed the level of trust and belief that they had in me.

My line manager was incredibly helpful all year. I had regular meetings with him to discuss my performance, my projects and any issues (both work related or otherwise). The programme leaders were also on hand at every opportunity to provide support and feedback on what I was doing well or crucially what I needed to work on in order to develop certain skills. The supervisor for the business unit I worked in was very helpful in providing support on a functional level (i.e. information on how the tasks were performed in that department).

My job role wasn't a fixed set of daily tasks, meaning my workload varied massively. My job was predominantly project based and therefore I found that at times my workload would be very high and at other times I might be waiting for my projects to progress. A good thing about my role, was that there was always opportunity to get involved in new tasks and projects, or to learn new skills, so I rarely went without something productive or beneficial to do during my days.

Before starting my placement with Eaton, I couldn't have begun to imagine the level of responsibility that I would be given. Some of the projects that I have worked on this year have involved large capital investment, with high levels of accountability. This amount of responsibility does bring with it real pressure and challenges, however the reward of completing a task/project of this scale by far outweighs the pressures; you will also be given the tools and guidance to succeed. Everybody at Eaton wants to see you and the company achieve great things, so they will push you to reach those heights.

Eaton's internship programme includes a well structured training programme, with training events taking place at regular intervals throughout the year. I found the training sessions booked for us were timed perfectly, so that we attended the training events just as I required those skills. Some of the training sessions attended include... Excel training, communications training, project management skills, finance skills, planning & prioritisation skills and presentation skills training. All of the skills that I developed on the job, during training days and through completing online e-courses, will without doubt continue to benefit me in my final year and beyond.

I worked in the warehouse/transport office, which ran on a day/afternoon/night 3-shift rota. My hours covered parts of the day and afternoon shifts, meaning that most of the people in my office changed at 14:00. This was good and bad, as it meant that there were more people to interact with, however the atmosphere changed with the different shifts. In general, I enjoyed working in my office and especially liked the fast-paced nature of the environment.

The 12 month placement ran as smoothly as can be expected, considering the changing nature of the business and the uncertainty of project work. Eaton are full of good problem solvers and experienced heads, meaning that if at any point there was a delay or a hiccup related to my placement, it was quickly resolved. The internship programme leaders give current interns the opportunity to express their feelings on how the scheme is set-up and where improvements could be made; this shows that the company is continuously looking to improve and is aiming to provide the best platform possible for interns to begin their careers.

Eaton invest a significant amount of time and effort into providing interns with training specific to their roles, on top of the core skills training provided to all interns throughout the year. Eaton have a great online system, full of e-courses and training sessions that are available to all employees wanting to further develop their skills. I have had the opportunity to develop so many skills this year that I couldn't have worked on studying at university. It is this diversity and ethos of developing talent from within the company that makes me proud to say I have completed my placement year with Eaton.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year working at Eaton and would relish the opportunity to return to the company after graduating.

In total there were 30 interns on the placement scheme during the 2014/2015 intake. At the Doncaster site where I worked there were 8 of us interns; we played sports together most weeks after work and regularly enjoyed nights out in either Sheffield (where most of us lived) or in Doncaster. The training events were great, as all 30 interns attended together and they gave us the opportunity to socialise and catch up on what was happening at other sites across the country.

I lived in Sheffield as I am a student at Sheffield Hallam University and therefore already knew the city well. Sheffield is a relatively cheap student city with a good nightlife and a number of things to do either during the week or on weekends. The site I was based at was in Doncaster, and again it is relatively cheap to go out there. Doncaster doesn't have quite as much going on, however there is enough to keep you busy. Doncaster is also well located near to big cities such as Sheffield, Leeds and York, with good transport links to make getting away easy.

Doncaster is a fairly standard town with a number of pubs/bars to go to - however as mentioned above, if you're looking for a good place to go out at night, you're only a short drive or train journey from a busier city.

Eaton are committed to healthy living and therefore have a number of activities throughout the year that you can get involved with. Eaton's site in Doncaster has around 600 employees, meaning you won't be short of one or two willing participants for any activities you want to get involved with. There is a football tournament open to teams from Doncaster held at the beginning of August; this is a great way for interns to show their faces and get to know people from the site - I'm proud to say the interns team are currently the reigning champions after we won the tournament last year.