My Work Placement Experience

My name is Kiera and I am a third-year student at St. Mary’s University receiving my BA in Politics & International Relations. After I graduate I would like to get a job in the environmental field, specifically focused on sustainability, conservation and the effects of climate change.

It was very difficult looking for a work placement because of lockdown due to the pandemic. I had reached out to around 5 organisations before I found Habitats & Heritage and non of them were accepting work placements at the time. I found Habitats & Heritage through my universities employability services and the process went very smoothly.

The process was very welcoming to ensure this was the right fit for what I was looking for. Since I would like to get a job in the environmental field, I wanted to make sure Habitats & Heritage would help me achieve better knowledge and gain more experience. My placement supervisors name was Stephen and he helped me throughout the whole work placement. He was very supporting if I ever had any questions or needed help clarifying the project I was given.

The work I was given was research for a presentation I later on had to present. The presentation was in collaboration with Habitats & Heritage and Marble Hill on sustainability and conservation called ‘Saving Water & Waste’. There was no specific day of the week I needed to work as my schedule was quite flexible so my hours consisted between 5-10 hours a week over a few days a week. There were weekly meetings with the whole organisation which I thought were helpful because it was a time to discuss our work from the previous week to our plans for the next week; Aswell as
any concerns we were facing. These were just general so once a week Stephen and I would have our own zoom meetings to discuss my research. When it got closer to the presentation, we had meetings with Marble Hill as well to confirm with them everything was good since the presentation was for them. When it came to the presentation, I think it went really good and you can watch it on youtube now if you’d like!

Overall, I believe this work placement helped me gain more experience and knowledge for the job field I would like to work in after graduation. I am very thankful for the opportunity I was given and for the positive experience of working with their employees.

I am happy with my experience and would gladly recommend anyone interested to do a work placement with Habitats & Heritage!

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