IMLP UK - New Beginnings

While researching IMLP, I was amazed at the fantastic opportunities the program offers in terms of training and development over the four six-month rotations. However, I always found it challenging to get a grasp of the type of work you would be responsible for as a member of the program within such a vast company. I’ve since discovered the reason for this is that the work is so varied – every day is a new experience and no two IMLP rotations are the same! I felt it would be useful however for me to give an overview of the work I’ve been doing so far and what I’ve learnt during my time on IMLP.

I currently work within the Technology Services Group (TSG). TSG is a cross business team providing Architecture services (Infrastructure, Application & Data) across the Aviation & Energy divisions.  Within TSG I am placed with the On Demand team, which manages our private cloud environment. It’s a great example of how GE is embracing emerging technologies and using them to generate cost efficiencies for the business. In addition to being cheaper than a traditional physical server, our virtual servers have reduced build times from an average of 6 weeks down to around 30 minutes! This allows our development teams to start working on new services far faster than ever before.

My role is to develop a capacity utilization dashboard to inform our internal customers of how much system resource they are consuming. This is vital as they are charged on a utility basis – much like a cellphone bill – so we can save the business a lot of money by providing this insight and adjusting virtual server allocation to match consumption.

My technical learning is focused around the Extract, Trasnform and Load (ETL) process, which is where data from multiple sources is pulled, cleansed and consolidated in a single source. This process is critical to Data Warehousing – which is a vital skill to possess as we enter the era of Big Data. TSG is full of technology experts so I’ve expanded my knowledge in other areas too, such as IP Provisioning & Web Service – simply by having conversations with the experts in those roles  

Additionally, my Assignment Leader brought me to Cincinnati for 3 weeks to meet the team and understand the wider business better. That was a fantastic experience. In addition to meeting my team to ‘put a name to a face’, I was able to sit with wider TSG leadership during my time in Cincinnati, which was exposure I would never have managed had I remained in Cheltenham.

Another great thing about IMLP is that the program is driven by the IMLPs themselves. So in addition to my rotational work I’ve organised recruitment events at both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities and helped run our IMLP assessment centres in London. This was great fun as I remember what it was like to be in that position myself a year ago – and as IMLPs we can help improve the process for the following year’s intake.

Halfway Point: Mid-Rotation Review

November marks the halfway point for my first Rotation, which also means Mid-Rotational Review. At the beginning of the rotation we are required to compile a list of goals that we will be evaluated on three times over the course of the rotation.

The first review, is primarily to make sure you have clear, measurable goals regarding your project so you can easily tell whether or not you are doing well. The second, which I will go into depth a little later, is where your program manager for the business you work for will evaluated you on your goals thus far. And finally, around the time when you pitch your projects out to senior management at the end of your rotation, you are put through a final review.

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