Meena developed key skills in her placement
Updated: Feb 21, 2019
Working within the IT Portfolio Office at EDF Energy gave Meena diversity in tasks.
Now a Ringtail Consultant at FTI Consulting, Meena Gowresan’s first exposure to industry was through a Year in Industry (YINI) placement at EDF Energy, where she developed key skills.
The experience
Meena completed her Year in Industry in 2014, working within the IT Portfo-lio Office at EDF Energy. The office overlooked and governed multiple IT projects, which gave Meena a lot of diversity in the tasks she undertook.
As this was her first STEM* workplace experience, the placement provided her with a real insight into what it would be like to enter the world of work after completing her degree, helping her to develop essential skills such as time management.
The benefits
Completing a Year in Industry gave Meena a head-start in comparison to her peers - with every interview she attended post-degree, she was able to demonstrate core skills and knowledge, that could only have been developed through experience.
During her placement year, Meena was able to mature through the responsi-bility given to her by her line manager, as well as experiencing living in a city where she didn’t know anyone. This developed independence in Meena, putting her in an advantageous position for her final year at university.
Entering industry
Meena, now a Consultant within the IT sector, regularly recommends a place-ment year to students who are looking to follow a similar route into industry. Of the ways in which organisations could benefit from taking on a Year in Industry student, she says:
“Many organisations look for candidates with experience but when a young person doesn't have experience they need that stepping stone, therefore this is the perfect opportunity for them. There may not appear to be an immediate return on investment to a company, but it will become a lot more valuable in the long run. It's about finding the suitable candidate to join your organisa-tion and letting them give back - after all we all have to start somewhere.”