Author

Ceinlys Williams, recent graduate from University of Bath

3 minute read

Meet Ceinlys Williams

Hi there, my name is Ceinlys Williams and I recently participated in a brilliant opportunity to work with the team at Scottish Engineering on a Legal and Human Resources placement. For a little bit of context about me, I am a recent postgraduate student of the University of Bath as a Master of Arts in International Security Studies, which expanded upon my undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in MA (Hons) International Relations and International Law. In terms of previous experience, this is my first professional placement in my degree field outside of part-time university work and my attendance at academic conferences.

My interest in doing the placement stemmed from my desire to expand upon my practical legal knowledge outwith a university setting, and to gain valuable insight from experienced solicitors specialising in highly utilised areas of employment law. During my time here, I feel I have been able to further develop my understanding of the working realities of legal advising, through sitting in on client-liaison meetings and commenting on case and contract reviews about real-world employee issues, such as discrimination and unfair dismissal claims. I very much enjoyed meeting representatives from member companies off site, as it also gave me an added insight into commercial practices such as client needs and situations, which is something new to me. Additionally, I was able to contribute to the slides on a future breakfast meeting presentation, focusing on the legalities of misconduct outside the workplace and how it may be applied, and the new regulations concerning the employer’s legal duty to be proactive in the prevention of sexual harassment both in and out of the workplace, inclusive of third-party individuals; Obviously this was a festive edition which was lots of fun to research and the feedback I was given made me feel a lot more confident in my ability to put together a concise and engaging means of spreading information. On a lighter note, my placement was timed so I could take part in the Company’s monthly Lunch and Learn, which gave me a good opportunity to socialise with everyone from all departments and refresh my CPR knowledge.

The legal team I worked with were really supportive and provided me with in-depth discussions about the background of what was being said or worked on, as well as reasoning behind the advice being given. This helped to consolidate my understanding of the legal process, from the initial filing of claims to employment tribunals and settlement agreements, as it was something I hadn’t specifically looked at for a while. Overall, I would like to give everyone at Scottish Engineering my utmost thanks for being so welcoming, and for their dedication to ensuring that I had productive and meaningful placement. I would highly recommend the opportunity to anyone looking for an insight into the working world as a young professional.