After completion of my first two years at university studying Business Studies I completed 15 months at BAE Systems in the HR Department working in Remuneration and Benefits. This was a vast learning experience for me which I enjoyed massively. Following this I decided that HR was what I wanted to do and returned to my final year at university but changed my degree slightly to Business Studies and Human Resource Management.

After completing university I returned to working in Barrow and have so far done two different placements, one in generalist HR and one in specialist HR. I’m now looking to complete a 6 month placement in an HR department at a different site in a different business unit working in learning & development and resourcing in order to broaden my experience before returning to Barrow for the end of the graduate scheme. I am now working towards chartered status and all this experience is helping me achieve that goal.

I was attracted to BAE Systems as they are a global company with a diverse product range. This was attractive as many jobs in the market are in the finance and service sector for organisations that might not have a tangible product. The industrial placement year looked like it would give me an excellent insight into the world of business with a lot of different opportunities and experiences being available. The added benefit is that after completing a 12 month placement, you could have the opportunity to return as a graduate if you performed well as an industrial placement. You could also be sponsored for completing the final year of your degree. That was a big incentive.

I thought that as BAE Systems was such a large company that it would not be very close knit but this is not the case, the Barrow site that I work at is a really friendly place to work and you can easily forget that you’re part of a global company.

In the future I’m hoping to be able to work at the Barrow site in a permanent HR role providing generalist or specialist HR support to the business having completed my CIPD chartership.

If you’re thinking about a 12 month placement here, my advice would be to be honest in your application, be positive throughout the recruitment process, be prepared to learn and take advice – after all BAE Systems is a company that is full of people with decades of knowledge and you will learn a lot more from them than you ever will in a classroom.