Intern Review
at National Grid
Internship (1 Month+)
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Swansea / Abertawe
Review Submitted: August 2025
Overall Rating
4.8 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4/5
-
Overview of Role
5/5
-
Skills Development
4.5/5
-
Support and Guidance
4.8/5
-
Company Culture
5/5
-
Overall Experience
5/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
During my placement, I was able to gain exposure across many aspects of the business, including:
🔹 Substation site work – assembling and wiring 132 kV isolators, supporting breaker and transformer commissioning, preparing foundations and rebar layouts, cable ducting, and observing tower decommissioning and overhead line insulation changes.
🔹 Protection and control testing – carrying out continuity checks, troubleshooting relay wiring, supporting AVC transformer tap changer testing with Omicron equipment, analysing pickup and drop-off characteristics, and validating protection schemes through secondary injection testing, impedance calculations, and time-current characteristic curves.
🔹 Transformer and circuit breaker maintenance – observing SF6 breaker leak inspections and replacements with sustainable dry-air alternatives, reviewing Buchholz relay operation, learning star-delta transformer connections for protection, and rewiring trip indication circuits to improve SCADA signals.
🔹 Planning and design exposure – working with PND engineers on intertripping schemes, reinforcement planning, and tower decommissioning; with DSO teams on network modelling, load index studies, curtailment, and contingency planning; and with the Engineering Design team on single line diagrams, GA drawings, schematics, and multifunctional transducer applications.
🔹 Hands-on tasks – pulling and dressing multi-core protection and control cables, labelling and wiring CB panels according to standards, assisting with circuit main earth removal, oxidation removal from equipment, and supporting practical commissioning activities.
🔹 Technical training and systems – gaining experience in Crown, IPSA, SQL, and Excel, completing LinkedIn Learning courses, and undergoing comprehensive training in cybersecurity, compliance, insider threat, data security, and business separation.
🔹 Professional development – presenting my work to graduates and interns, receiving constructive feedback, and attending the Power Academy Conference, where I engaged in workshops on hydrogen aircraft, net-zero networks, and network planning, while also networking with peers across the industry.
Throughout all of this, safety remained my top priority. I worked under strict DIESIR protocols, permit-to-work systems, and on-site procedures such as isolations, earthing, colour-coded wristbands, and control communications, ensuring every task was carried out safely and correctly.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
As much as safety precautions allowed
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
4/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I’ve developed my technical knowledge in protection, control, and commissioning, while also strengthening my teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
5/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
Lots of support
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
4/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
happy to be there, work, lots of support available
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
4/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
5/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
Very much, very interactive
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
5/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend National Grid to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to National Grid
Don't be afraid to be yourself
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at National Grid
5/5
Did you receive an offer to return as a graduate?
Waiting to hear
