My IB Practical Training Experience
My experience was with AREX Engineering Consultants LLC which has been operating for more than 40 years in United Arab Emirates. AREX stands for Arab Experts according to the Chairman of the company. This was not my first working experience in the company and hopefully will not be the last.
My role this time was a little bit more serious and required more innovation and problem solving skills. I appreciate that the company has trusted me with such task which is to analyse competition within that region in addition to setting an expansion plan according to the instructions and limitations of the company. The company wanted to take the most advantages of possible market opportunities as it has not been expanded that much since established (However, it has been on a stable level as a whole, nothing bad).
I have learned many hard and sift skills during this experiece I have learned how to work under management as in my previous work experiences, I was mostly the manager of myself. I learned how to work within a team according to management instructions and keep a balance between time and quality. I appreciate the fact that the company offered more flexibility for me as a trainee as long as the tasks are achieved successfully. I have observed that administration roles within the company have more flexibility as long as the outcome is done with quality and within a reasonable/acceptable time, whereas the engineering positions have strict time and outcome standards.
This time I learned a new kind of business skills. Research and development. But not just according to my own interest (that what makes is not as easy as it might theme). The market is huge, competition surprisingly was too tough, tough enough that it was even coming from outsider companies. However, this was not the only difficulty and real working life requires hard work to overcome challenges. My practical training was extended to have further discussions and edits about the outcome and our meetings were flexible too (including virtual and face-to-face)
After this experience combined with some other experiences, I have learned more about myself and where do I want to see myself, what I should focus on and what I should develop. I recommend my fellow students to have their practical training in more than one field in business where they can actually have their hands on real tasks and feel the experience so they forecast the future towards their goals.