My name is Tabea Bitz, I live in a small village near Heidelberg in Germany.

At the moment I do an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at the Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. KG in Eppelheim near Heidelberg. WILD is worldwide leading in manufacturing natural ingredients and developing complete solutions for the food and beverage industry. The production and sale of the Capri Sun, as well as the beverage Libella, represent the company's second core business.

When my trainee supervisor told me that I’ve got the opportunity to do an internship abroad in an English company I was really interested. She told me that I have to write an application to the Organisation “Fairbund” and hope that they choose me for a stipend for 3 weeks in Torquay. So fortunately Fairbund chose me!! I was really happy but also a little bit afraid to go alone in another country for 3 weeks.

I arrive on a Sunday evening. On Monday midday was my welcome meeting.  So I’ve got a little bit time for get to know Torquay better.

On Tuesday I started working in the Training Partnership. I was a bit nervously but that changed very quickly. All my colleges at the Training Partnership were so friendly and helpfully to me. They explain me all my tasks very good and give me not the feeling to be a misfit or something like that. I really liked go to work. My working time elapsed very quickly every day. I really enjoy the 3 Weeks at the Training Partnership.

Torquay is a really beautiful city and has a lot of nice shops, so you can go shopping very well.              I also like the harbour from Torquay so much. When the sun is shining you can really enjoy your days here like in holiday.

I also liked the student meetings very well. I think that is a really important for the students here. It’s really good to get some connections with other people. We had always a lot of fun together.  For example:  we went to the cinema in Torquay, to a karaoke party and to the zoo in Paignton. So a big thank you to the people who organize the meetings.        

All in all I can say it was a really great time in Torquay, I think I improved my English and I think I’m more independent now.Thank you Training Partnership for this great time, I’ll never forget this experience!

Student blog – Visit to Torquay Museum

Last Thursday took place a new student meeting. In that case it was a cultural meeting. We visited the Torquay Museum!

Several days ago, when I knew where would be the meeting, I had looked for some information about the exhibitions to share it with other students throw Facebook. So, when Thursday arrived, all students gathered with TTPL staff at the entrance after the lunch to undertake that adventure together.

 

I remember that we had to enter in small groups and divide us into different rooms. The first that we found inside was a room dedicated to Sci-Fi movies, where we could see the costumes and props of some of the famous characters of Alien, Matrix, Star Wars, Terminator, Star Treck, Dr Who, I Robot, Fifth Element, V, Battlestar Galactia, Red Planet and Planet of the Apes. At the same time, other students and I had the possibility to take a photo with Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers or R2D2 and Darth Maul for instance.

Going on with our way, we arrived at Agatha Christie’s room where there were the original covers of the books which were drawn by Tom Adams. It was really interesting to be able to see with my own eyes those paintings which accompanied me lots of nights before felling sleep.

Then we could contemplate the oldest anatomically modern human fossil in north-western Europe and other samples which were found in Kent’s Cavern, one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe.

Eventually, we crossed a room which contained some discoveries about Egyptians like the coffin of the son of a king or more interesting findings that I just saw in the movies. All of that was incredible!

I really enjoyed the visit very much. It was a nice time as for the things that I saw as for people who were with me!

Students view of Torquay

It’s just three weeks ago I was in Spain with my family and my friends spending the time going to the beach and enjoying that I had finished the University. Nowadays, my situation is a bite different. The reason is why I wanted to live a new experience; I wanted to go to England to improve my English level, start to do some work practices related on my studies and, at the same time, learn to look after myself. So, in 15^th of July I took a plane to Bristol.

The first proof was not to lose when I got off the plane. I decided to do this trip alone so I had to be consistent with my decision. I had to buy the tickets and look for the bus and two trains which they would bring me in Torquay train station. I have never travelled alone and I have some problems to understand the English language when people speak with me quickly, so it wasn’t easy for me.

When I arrived in Torquay my host family went to the train station to welcome. They were very kind with me. They gave me a round by car to show the city and afterwards, they introduce me other students who live in the house as well.

I knew that I worked in The Training Partnership, the company which managers and organises the students’ stay. However, the first day that I stepped the building wasn’t my first day at work. The day before, I had a meeting with other newly arrived students. There were Italian, Germany and Spanish people and all of them probed to be nice people. After the meeting we went to drink something in a pub together and some of them have become to my first friends here.

About my job in the company, I have been helping to research some useful information by Internet, write some documents and use the network Facebook to contact with other students. The work environment is great, all the people are good with me and I’m practicing English a lot.

What’s more, I have met a lot of people; Italian, Germany, French and, of course, lots of Spanish. I have visited with some of them some near cities like Brixham, Paignton or Exeter. Also I have gone shopping and to the beach, using the good time of this week.

Although I miss my family and my friends, really I’m spending a good time here.

My work experience with The Training Partnership Ltd

When my teacher told my class that 10 of us had the chance to travel to Torquay and participate a traineeship in an English company I was really interested.

When I got the message that I am one of those who will travel to Torquay I was really exited but also a little bit afraid. Away from home for seven weeks is a long time for me. I never stayed away from home that long.

Two work placements were assigned to me. My first three weeks I work at manpower and the last three weeks I work at The Training partnership.

When I started my traineeship at Manpower I was very nervous but that changed quickly. Marianne and Russ were so friendly to me and they really tried to do their best to involve me to their work. These three weeks were just great. I really enjoyed my time at manpower and I felt very comfortable. My tasks were simple and almost the same everyday but they didn’t bore me. I had a lot to do with the computer and their programme ‘Vision’. Also I had contact with customers and clients. I was part of as meeting at John Lake which was very interesting and the Lady there was just lovely. It was very interesting to see how Marianne managed her work. Her job is very stressful but I think that I helped her a lot. My working hours were from 9am to 5pm and I had one hour lunch break from 12-13 am.

I don’t felt comfortable enough to answer the phones, because it was my first time here in England and I don’t want to make any mistakes. You really have to focus on your work, because when you download all the information on vision you have to be careful and double check everything.

We also had a lot of fun together and they didn’t just talked about work they told me lots of things about events in Torquay especially about the Queen’s Jubilee.

All in all I am very satisfied with this work placement and my experience there. I don’t regret that I travelled to Torquay. I learned so much here and you have to enjoy your time here. There is just so much that you can see.

A big Thank you to The Training Partnership! And I hope that we will have a great time together in these three weeks.

Melina Dignas, German student at TTPL

Our South Devon College Work Experience Student

We were asked by SDC to host one of their Work Experience students...we said yes and have had Alex working with us...so, in her own words, here is her short blog...

'Recently I was given the opportunity to do one week work experience at The Training Partnership Company. In the short time I was here I have had such a good time, and have gained a lot of new experiences and skills,  I have been working alongside another work experience student who has been very helpful and a great supervisor. Everyone here is so nice and friendly and has really made me feel welcome here. The Training Partnership Company is a great place to work and feel privileged to have been a part of a worthwhile company and I would be delighted to be able to work here again in the future. Thanks to all the Training Partnership team.'

Alex Murray, Business and IT student, South Devon College

In our words; Alex has been an absolute delight to have in our office, she has worked very well and I am certain that she will be a real asset to any future employer...Thank you :0)

Marc and the Palm FM Bed

From Palm FM radio was forged Bed Month!! 

A crazy competition to enjoy and have fun with the listeners and one of them won a new bed to lie in and have good dreams! Maybe some Nightmare’s…

Jenny, Jo and Ben woke up one Sunday morning like the others, two hours after they were still in bed and they were thinking about how lucky they are to have a wonderful bed to rest and for once in life there minds connected. They were calling each other from the bed and they had the idea to make a competition, they are always so kind and they like so much to have fun and enjoy the job. 

The step after that was contact with the Training Partnership to take some guy to support the event and help them with all the stuff they needed to prepare, it was at this point when I was inside the project. Training Partnership contacted me (Marc Figueras) through the contact network and they said to me: keep your pyjamas on because you will be in bed all week!

From Marc Figueras I give thanks to the Training Partnership and Palm FM Radio to choose me in this event! It was one of the best experiences I’ve had in Devon! We were there each day in the week from 8 a.m to 10 a.m at different places (Torquay: Seafront, Babbacombe and Sainsburys  // Newton Abbot and Paington) making a broadcasting from the bed and all the listeners were invited to come and jump in the bed to have a photo with our team!! I was enjoying a lot, Jenny, Jo and Ben are so funny and they were always laughing and doing crazy things… Some people came to us when they were going to work with their car listenning the radio, and stopped to jump into bed and be part of the competition! Some others were only walking around where we were and were asking to us: What was happening here? However everybody wanted to jump in the bed!! Yes It was a really comfortable bed, easy to fix but really comfortable and all of them wanted to try it.

Others wanted to surprise us with bringing their kids, one of them newborn and she was so cute and smiling all the time. Someone else brought his mascot! It was a big tortoise and every one of us were playing with it and taking some good photos to it and then it was playing in the competition as well!!! But it was a tortoise and it couldn’t be the winner.. One man also gave us a present! It was a Teddy Winnie the pooh and Teddy Tigger and all of the children were playing with them when they came. Also we had our own competition because every day one of us needed to bring to the bed a Teddy and the worse one was from Jenny, it was so old and awful but every one was trying to be polite.. hehe

The last game we did was a pillow fight, it was Jo vs Ben and I was the Judge, it was so funny Ben hit Jo more times but at the end of the fight he broke my own rules that I decided! He fell off the bed and it was the main reason, he lost.. Jo was definitely the winner!!!

Thank you all for that experience I won’t forget it never in my life!!!

Wonderful life in Torquay

My Name is Jasmin Schneider (21), I’m from Donzdorf it’s a small town near Stuttgart (Germany). I do an apprenticeship as an office communication clerk at WMF, the market leader in cutlery, kitchen accessories and gastronomical coffee machines.

And now I spend 5 weeks in Torquay to improve my English and also to get work experience abroad. With eleven other students of the WMF, I arrived on Sunday the 1^st April. We just had a lovely welcome in Torquay and Paignton at our host families.

The first week started with the language course at the Riviera English School. We had to do a test at first. Then the teachers arranged different groups. The language course was quite good because we had the chance to decide what we wanted to learn or improve. We all get a certificate at the end of the course. As well in this week we tested the various fast food and take away restaurants at Fleet Street. But it’s not that good for our wallets. On Thursday I participated at my first student meeting. A walk to the small Village Cockington, but the weather was not really nice, so we drank tea and coffee at the Grand Hotel. It’s a good chance to meet other students.

At the Easter weekend from Friday to Monday we had much time to look around Torbay. For example we went on a boat trip. We visited the beach in Paignton and we also took the bus to Brixham. The bus connections in Torbay are very good, much better than in Germany. Especially we went shopping and we are all sure we love Primark. The nightlife in Torquay is very impressive because of the many crazy people coming over there to celebrate their stag party. On Sunday our host family, the Falconers, invited us for dinner. It was very delicious!

On Monday evening I felt very excited because of the start of the work placement at TTPL on Thursday. And now I can say that I’ll have a great time here in the office due to the fact that they are all friendly and helpful. Fortunately there are two other students, Suad from the Netherlands and Davinia from Spain, doing their internship at TTPL.