Rosina's placement resulted in a graduate opportunity

A Year in Industry placement at Atkins, resulted in Rosina being hired there as a graduate engineer.

From an early age Rosina had a desire to help the planet in some way. This desire inspired her to sign up to an EDT Headstart course to get a taste of university life as a mechanical engineering student, which later led on to her YINI placement which helped her secure a graduate role with Atkins.

The experience

Rosina was involved with a number of projects throughout her Year in Industry (YINI) and she was also given a healthy level of responsibility with them. The key project she worked on when on placement, is one that she is currently still working on, as a graduate engineer. Working with a client who recently installed an array of offshore wind turbines off the coast of the UK.

Her role was to initially to catalogue and analyse the inspection data, where she could interface with the client directly under the mentorship of a graduate who had been working on the project for a few years. Now a graduate engineer at Atkins, this role has matured to a more technical lead, with Rosina essentially becoming a specialist for this wind farm array, working with in-house material experts.

The benefits

Rosina found that her YINI placement provided her with a much needed break from her studies. It was a great way for her to get a change of scenery and it also helped to shape the next chapter of her life. Rosina was successful in securing a placement with Atkins, which proved to be a great fit for her skills and interests, she found the nature of “problem solving” work invigorating, and the open, familial style of Atkins very welcoming. Leaving at the end of her year in industry, Rosina then returned to complete her Masters year having secured a graduate offer to return to Atkins after completing her studies.

Entering industry

Currently working at Atkins, Rosina views YINI as the perfect tool for companies to use in their graduate recruitment process, saying:

“Companies should absolutely offer YINI placements! Students can have a few years of technical knowledge from University, and an inclination to learn and progress further than that – which is why they’re taking a year out from their studies to come and gain experience with your company. It can be a cheap and safe option for hiring graduates, because you essentially interview them for a year, both you and they will get a clear idea if you’re the right fit for each other.”