Internship provides new perspective

Spending the summer as an intern at a FTSE 100 company gave Strathclyde Business School student Stuart McLean a fresh perspective.

I was in Spain for a year as part of the my International Business and Modern Languages course when I heard from Strathclyde about the opportunity to spend 12 weeks working for Capita Transformation, the Management Consultancy business of Capita plc in London.

I travelled from Spain especially for the interview process – I felt the opportunity to work for Capita, one of the fastest growing FTSE 100 companies, was too good to miss.

Back in Spain, I received confirmation that I had secured the position at Capita. It was an unbelievable feeling. I was pleased the hard work had paid off and I couldn’t wait to start in June.

Capita plc is the UK leader in business process outsourcing and professional support solutions. I worked as part of Capita Transformation assisting in the implementation of intelligent business solutions across both public and private sectors. Capita operate UK wide and further afield with offices in South Africa and India.

What I enjoyed most at Capita was the variety offered within the position. Working in consultancy at this stage of my University Degree allowed me to identify my strengths and weaknesses and helped recognise business areas that I might be interested in upon the completion of my degree.

During the three month internship I worked on Early Years projects in London Borough Barnet and on Capita’s C2 Consultancy Course refresh. Eight weeks in Barnet allowed for complete understanding and involvement in projects. I was also lucky enough to fill in as Deputy Lead on the improvement of Free Early Education in Barnet. I thrived in the position of responsibility, interacted with key stakeholders and assisted in the delivery of desired outcomes.

My colleagues were very friendly and welcoming which made it easy to settle in. The social side of Capita was excellent, and working and living in London – although at times hectic – was very enjoyable.

I enjoyed the challenge and was completely immersed in the projects I was working on. The 12 weeks allowed for a complete evaluation of what I have achieved so far and what I hope to achieve in my final year of study. The experience at Capita Transformation was great for my own personal experience and development and I am satisfied to have contributed effectively to the projects I was involved in.