Two weeks of work experience with Jaguar Land Rover’s Corporate Affairs team at Solihull has provided me with new experiences and insight into the working world.
Written by Bella Rona, Work Experience Student, Birmingham University
Watching a line of rivet machines
in one of the body shops was, well, riveting!
It was my first glimpse into the
complexity and sophistication behind the construction of Jaguar Land Rover
vehicles.
In the next few weeks, I would learn
about everything that goes on in a very busy Communications team at Jaguar Land
Rover’s flagship plant. I was even able to look inside the Paint Shop which
contains twenty-three kilometres of conveyors, dressed head-to-toe in a white
net suit and hat, and watch the machines spraying final coats onto vehicles.
These opportunities to tour
Solihull’s factories were just a few of the innumerable highlights of working
with the company for two weeks.
Amongst others was attending the Mitch Evans
colleague event at the Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton. Employees
were able to meet and take photos with a Formula E racing driver, who was for
some a personal hero.
I also gained important experience conducting
interviews with different people at Solihull, such as Jenna Peacock and a trio
of teams preparing for the TIC convention, to be featured in People Talk magazine
and On Track respectively.
Subsequently, I had the opportunity to proof the
draft magazine which was to be distributed to all employees across the site. I
thought it was so important that employees felt like individuals in such an
expansive plant.
Working within such an enormous
community invites the exciting and unexpected. I witnessed in one moment the
handing over of the keys of a Jaguar I-PACE to a lucky competition winner, and
the team dealing with a chemical incident on site and the following media
response in the next.
Most of all, though, I enjoyed the
time I spent in the office with the wonderful Corporate Affairs and
Communications team, writing articles and being part of their fun, fast-paced world
for a little while. I was made to feel welcome, useful and inspired.
An
enormous thank you to Elliot, Rich and Laura for making my time here so
invaluable.
Working within such an enormous community invites the exciting and unexpected.
Bella RonaBirmingham University Student - Work Experience