Tees Business Issue 39 | Page 49

The students and mentors
TRAINING
Leading the way – SABIC mentors ( back , left to right ) Steve Hornsey , Jack Cairns , James Gray , Fred Feenan and Nicky Emmerson ( student support ) with learners ( front row , from left ) Anas Al-Hindawi , Zach Purdy , Erin Donnelly , George Fleming and Frankie Roberts .

The student experience

Erin Donnelly , chemical engineering student , Leeds University “ The “ year in industry ” placement is providing me with a unique opportunity to build connections in the workplace and also learn from people in different disciplines , by learning about their roles and responsibilities .
“ Being on a site is exciting . We see miniature versions of process plants at university , but seeing the scale of a live site is impressive .
“ This experience will really help me to see my degree through to completion .”
George Fleming , mechanical engineering student , Teesside University “ So far , I am already benefiting from my placement by having lots of ideas for my final year project for university .
“ Learning about environment , health and safety at site is great , because I am learning about it with the context of a real site . This will really help me to gain a practical knowledge of awareness and risk .
“ The experience is also helping me to think about my long-term career goals , I ’ d like to become a chartered engineer in the future .”
Anas Al-Hindawi , instrumentation and electrical engineering student , Teesside University “ I am really enjoying getting some hands-on experience , putting theory into practice .
“ We are all learning from our mentors and others in the team , but we are also learning from our fellow students by sharing our knowledge .
“ This is a great opportunity for me to build professional relationships and work towards my final-year project and beyond .”
Frankie Roberts , mechanical engineering student , Teesside University “ One of the important things I am learning from my mentor , who has years of experience , is the right way to go about problem solving .
“ This real-life experience , getting to work with professionals , is really going to help with me with my future career .”
Zach Purdy , chemical engineering student , Teesside University “ The experience of this placement has been so positive for me . Working in this supportive environment has given me extra confidence and taking ownership of tasks has given me a real sense of independence .
“ I hope this experience will also help me to gain an industry graduate position on completion of my degree .”

The mentor experience

Steve Hornsey , lead engineer and mentor for Anas Al-Hindawi “ It ’ s really satisfying to be able to share knowledge , develop the students and see how their confidence grows in a short period of time .”
Fred Feenan , lead engineer and mentor for George Fleming “ Being a mentor is challenging in terms of commitment and time , but we all recognise that the effort you put in , you get back from the students .
“ From my own experience , it is great to have somebody to turn to and ask for advice . Most of the people the students are working with have 20 years “ plus ” experience .”
Jack Cairns , process engineer and mentor for Zach Purdy “ A student placement is such valuable experience . It ’ s firsthand experience working in industry and not just from a textbook .
“ They get involved in many projects , going out onto site and learning and identifying things that will help them greatly in the future .”
The students and mentors
Student : Frankie Roberts ( mechanical engineering ) Mentor : Ally Lambton
Student : George Fleming ( mechanical engineering ) Mentor : Fred Feenan
Student : Erin Donnelly ( chemical engineering ) Mentor : James Gray
Student : Zach Purdy ( chemical engineering ) Mentors : Dave Willox / Jack Cairns
Student : Anas Al-Hindawi ( instrumentation / electrical engineering ) Mentor : Steve Hornsey
The voice of business in the Tees region | 49