Recently, we welcomed 16-year-old William to Advanced for a week-long work experience placement.
Having just completed his GCSEs, William is preparing to start his A Levels, where he plans to study Spanish, Philosophy and Economics. With a particular interest in economics, he was keen to gain a better understanding of the different career opportunities available within a business like Advanced.
During the week, William spent time with several departments, including Production, Marketing, Finance and HR, learning more about how the company operates and the many people who help bring our products to market.
What did you think before you started your placement?
Before starting my placement, I knew Advanced manufactured fire panels, but I hadn’t really thought about everything that happens behind the scenes. I was looking forward to seeing how the business works day to day and learning more about the different roles and career opportunities available across the company.
What were you most looking forward to?
I was especially interested in spending time with the Finance and Marketing teams. Finance links closely to my interest in economics, while Marketing gave me an insight into how businesses make decisions about where to invest their time and resources to achieve the best results.
What has surprised you the most?
The scale of the business surprised me. I didn’t expect there to be such a large manufacturing facility on site or so many people working across different departments. It’s been interesting to see how many teams are involved in creating and supporting the products, not just the people on the production line.
What's been your favourite part of the placement?
The people have definitely been the highlight. Everyone has been really welcoming and happy to explain what they do. I particularly enjoyed spending time with the Production team because they took the time to show me the different processes and helped me understand how everything fits together.
What is the biggest thing you've learned so far?
I’ve learned how much skill and attention to detail goes into manufacturing. Before this week, I hadn’t realised how complex the process was or how much work is involved in producing each product.
Life at Advanced
Interested in joining the Advanced team? Discover life at Advanced and see our available roles.