Hi, my name’s Ann-Marie, and for past year I have been taking part in BAE Systems’ Graduate Development Framework (GDF). Having graduated from Royal Holloway University of London with a BSc in Management, I joined the company in March 2008 as a Project Management Graduate. I’ve been keeping a diary of my journey so far…

MARCH 2008

I started six months before the rest of the 2008 intake, and so joined the company in March. My First placement was in Broad Oak, Portsmouth where I was a project controller. The role of the Project Controller is to run the Project Control System for Project Management, synthesising the data and making recommendations to enable the Project Manager to make informed decisions. I was involved in updating of project plans, and working from bid to contract completion to ensure planning and forward scheduling was carried out and reported. Here I learnt about the various projects that we run within Integrated Systems Technologies (Insyte) and got my first taste of how we run and report on projects within the business.

As well as my day job I was involved in Stretch assignments, one in particular was helping at a bring your kids to work day where we spent the day building robots and showing the kids what we do in manufacturing down in Broad Oak. Another thing that stood out for me was a trip to Farnborough Air Show. This was a fantastic opportunity to see the vast range of solutions and products we offer, but also what our partner companies and competitors are all about.

SEPTEMBER 2008

My next placement was kicked off with the graduate induction week, which was held the De Vere Hotel in Hook. This provided a great opportunity to get to know fellow graduates in the business unit as well as meeting managers and directors. The week involved numerous activities and presentations which covered a range of aspects of the company, from playing a giant board game to simulate a business scenario, to carrying out a role play of what you would do if you were in a lift with the Managing Director.

Coming back down to earth and my day job, I moved in to business development assistant manger role, here I supported a Business Development manager in the Naval sector of Insyte, this involved customer meetings with the Ministry of Defence, contract negotiation, and running some small events one at HMS Sultan. Coinciding with this I started my Association of Project Management courses. This is a series of 6 courses followed by an exam which would result in a APMP Qualification. These courses were a great opportunity to meet people from around the business at all levels and to apply some theory to the experience I was having in my working life.

JANUARY 2009

After a relaxing Christmas break I embarked on my third placement, and this is where I sit now as an Exhibitions Project Manager, this has been by far the most exciting and challenging placement yet. My role revolves around managing the implementation of exhibition and business development strategy in order to meet the strategic and marketing objectives of the company and to enhance the company brand and image.

Over the past six months I have been working on two shows in particular, ITEC in Brussels and UDT in Cannes, this has involved the project management of the shows from concept all the way through to delivery. Right now I am currently supporting DSEi which will be held in London in September.

Whilst having a very busy day job I have also been involved in stretch assignments from organising a graduate forum in Warton, where the graduates get to see a new site and have the chance to discuss any issues or concerns and have a say about the graduate scheme. To organising an awards ceremony for 250 employees in the HMS Warrior in Portsmouth with a team of Graduates, in this project in particular we report directly into the Management Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for us to get to know them. I am now looking for my next placement which will start in October, but will keep you posted…