Industrial Trainee Review

My role is to assist on transport planning aspects of projects. My responsibilities often include high-level research tasks, writing reports, conducting site visits and using software such as GIS and Podaris to complete technical tasks.
Internally, the vast majority of projects included multiple disciplines within Arup which therefore required collaboration across different teams, of which I was able to work with planning, placemaking, rail, highways and engineering teams which widened my skillset. Externally, I frequently attend stakeholder and client meetings to present my work, as well as taking minutes and taking stakeholder/client feedback to improve project outputs.
Over my 10 month placement, I worked on a variety of projects, which were often categorised by the following:
- Masterplaning, where I worked alongside placemaking disciplines to propose future city centre transport strategies.
- Development planning, which often involved producing reports and planning documents such as Travel Plans or Transport Assessments to be submitted to secure development planning permission for a client.
- Transport economics, which often involved looking at the feasibility studies of transport projects.
- Transport modelling, which involves the use of SATURN or Python software to predict the impact of a proposed transport scheme.

Yes - I was always encouraged to take tasks in my own direction, particularly when undertaking design or master planning projects. Also, when producing planning documents or reports, I always produce the first draft independently, which then gets reviewed by more senior peers for feedback, which I then add to the document in order to produce the final output.

I have developed many new skills, many of which I would not have developed soley at University. Firstly, my communication skills have been developed through constantly working as a team and collaborating with other disciplines and stakeholders. My software abilities have also been very improved through exposure to many new programmes in my work (GIS, Podaris, SATURN, Python, SketchUp, etc). Also, my confidence has grown, particularly when engaging with clients and networking with new people.

I received a vast amount of support. My manager was extremely approachable and friendly and was my first port of call for any questions or guidance. I was also given a 'buddy' who was a less senior member of my team that helped to settle me in and also answered any other questions I had. My whole team were extremely supportive and always gave me a thorough briefing to new projects and tasks, and were extremely helpful when I had any questions.

The company culture was extremely friendly and outgoing - we have monthly office-wide socials for different disciplines to meet and mingle, as well as regular team socials to catch up outside of the work place. Everyone I have met at Arup is extremely passionate about sustainability and social usefulness, so the employees do accurately reflect the company's values. The atmosphere in the office was really vibrant - because we are consultants, my placement involved lots of meetings, so people in my section were always on the phone and collaborating with each other which created a motivating atmosphere.

I really enjoyed my placement - so much so, that I am hoping to join the graduate scheme in September 2024. It taught me new skills I would have never developed at university and has also given me a 'trial' of my future career, of which I now know I will enjoy doing!

Yes