Matthew Squirrell
Current student
- Course
- Automotive Engineering MEng
- Subject area
- Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
I would highly recommend doing a placement as it opens you up to the working world with the right amount of support from employees where you get to put the fundamentals learnt at university into practice and prepares you for when you leave university to re-enter the working environment.
The application process
I heard about the placement at the university careers fair and the company is local to home. I applied online for a couple of roles and received an email for an evaluation of my mathematics skills and a psychometric test. I was then invited for an in person interview.
To prepare for the interview process, I researched the company to ensure I knew the history of the company. I also did some research online to see what the most common interview questions are and practiced answering these with my parents.
My placement experience
For my placement year, I worked at Triumph as a design engineer working on their new motocross bike, the TF 250-X. This role has involved a broad range of engineering skills from design work, component testing and inspection and creating technical drawings to name a few. It has also given me a great insight into both the pre-production and production stages.
I have really enjoyed my placement year at Triumph, the people I have worked with are always happy to assist me and teach me the necessary things to be able progress with a task by myself and are still there to help if I need it at any point – a good balance between team and individual working.
One of the best parts of my placement was the opportunity to travel to Thailand to visit the production factories. This opened my eyes to the production side of engineering, seeing the welding facilities, body work moulding machines and the assembly lines.
The transition from study to work at first was a struggle, but once I had gotten into a routine it wasn't a problem! Vice versa, the placement year has helped me greatly for my return to university because I have covered such a broad range of skills that will assist me both personally and during lectures.
I believe that my placement year will greatly increase my chances of being able to secure a job at the end of my degree, whether that is an offer from Triumph or another company.