Case studies: Summer internship, BP: Ashley Clarke

Ashley Clarke studied a Bachelors degree in Geology and Geophysics at the University of Liverpool. He embarked on a summer internship with oil company BP before being put through his paces at a graduate assessment centre. Receiving a job offer two weeks later, he will now take part in The BP Class of 2012 programme

The BP Class of 2012 is a unique opportunity for graduates who are joining the graduate programme in September 2012 to complete a paid secondment with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games(LOCOG). Over the course of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, around 100 students from the BP graduate scheme will take part.

Based at Canary Wharf and the Copper Box arena at the Olympic Park, I will be working in the event control room as a venue communication centre coordinator with LOCOG. The job will involve facilitating radio communications, providing live, event-related information and assisting with the tracking and resolution of issues that arise at the arena. Before and during the games I will be living in central London, in accommodation provided by BP.

This is a unique opportunity to get a close-up view of a major world event. There are few events where so many nations, cultures, languages, and disciplines are gathered together in one place.

The main skills I hope to acquire and improve are the ability to work under pressure, to maintain a high level of concentration, and to deliver accurate results in a timely manner.

All of these skills will be transferable to my role at BP as there will be deadlines to meet, with organisation and communication within the team being vital to the success of every project.

After the Games, I will be joining the exploration and production challenge graduate programme. This will consists of two job rotations that will provide work experience in different business units. These roles could mean that I work either in a producing oil field, or at the forefront of new oil exploration. Each rotation lasts 18-24 months.

The first couple of years will consist of a combination of training, operational experience, and project work. The operational experience could include working on North Sea rigs or at a drilling well, both of which are exciting prospects.

The modules I studied as an undergraduate provided the technical knowledge and the soft skills that proved invaluable during my summer internship. Seeing how modules, such as geophysical data modeling or sequence stratigraphy, applied to the work I was doing was like completing a puzzle. The component parts came together in a very real way and brought the theory and laboratory time alive. I expect this to continue as my role as a geoscientist with BP develops. Without the grounding of my studies, I would feel less confident about working for BP.