Caves, waves and travel plans

We are all full back in the swing of work and 2013 is shaping up well...plenty of bookings and a steady flow of trainees arriving here in South Devon for their Work/Travel experience. There are currently about 50 students here and one of the highlights of this week was our student meeting down in the caves at Kents Cavern - enjoyable not only because it is always a popular venue but because we were able to present the first certificates of 2013. Three French students, Floriane, Angele and Betty are returning home after their experience here in Torbay.

Debbie, our Programme Manager went to Kents Cavern to wave a fond farewell (or should that be au revoir) to the girls who spent their time here with Rossetti Brides, BijouxB and Puddleducks - thanks to all of them for helping make their time here unforgettable.

 

I am busy preparing my travel plans for another trip to Romania... I will be participating in an International Networking programme called The Art of Networking at the Romanian American University led by Filipe Carrera, an Internationl Trainer, Speaker and Networking Coach - I'm really looking forward to the experience - what an opportunity. Huge thanks to the Directors (Jayne, Nadine and Wendy) here at TTPL towers for their support in making this trip possible.

 

The office remains a buzzing and active place - Earlier this week we had a group of French boys here to have some Conversational English lessons and they also spent a couple of afternoons exploring Work Preparation. A really great group who all have a good level of English and fantastic enthusiasm. This group are all doing placements in IT with computer shops around Torbay & Totnes and were taken out to their employers by the TTPL team on Monday. We also have a group of German girls working in China Blue and Wild Fig in Totnes and at Braeside Nursery in Paignton who began their placements on Tuesday. This job is so rewarding and it is amazing to see the excitement in the faces of the trainees as they begin their work experience.

 

That is all for this week so enjoy the weekend - I know I will as my Dad is down to visit...

 

Take care and have fun :0)

Snow!

Here we are half way through January and the snow has arrived...well, sort of! Here in Torbay we have a little rain but otherwise we seem to be snow free - not sure if that is good or bad though. I'm sure all the young (and young at heart) in Torbay are wanting to go and sledge or throw snowballs. For the drivers among us the lack of snow is a blessing! However, the moors have a good covering and I am certain that there will be much fun and laughter there this weekend....

                                                                                                                                                                                                              

No snow in Torbay but it is a bit windy and the high tide was 'interesting' !

The year has started the same way it ended for us...BUSY! which is great.

Student meeting this week was at AMF Bowling and all our trainees had a great time - we even had two French teachers who are here with their group join in with us.

Next week the student meeting will be at Kents Cavern - keep a lookout for Cavog the Caveman! This is always a popular venue and I'm sure all our trainees will have a great time. Thank you to Nick, James and the Kents Cavern team, not only for the student meetings but for being such a fantastic work placement. 

That's all for now...have a great weekend, enjoy the sledging (try not to break anything) and see you all on Monday

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2013...lets make it a great year.

I hope you have all had a fantastic Christmas/New Year break and are now raring to go!

I always find New Year a great time to focus...we all know that the last week or so before Christmas is a bit more relaxed than normal so it makes sense to hit January with all the energy you can muster.

Here at TTPL towers we are getting ready for another busy year and hope to be helping more trainees and graduates to experience the very best that South Devon can offer. We have trips abroad planned, I am off to Bucharest again in February and Nadine has been very busy putting together a funding bid to send some of our local students and young people to experience a Work Placement in another part of Europe - we really hope we are successful but are very aware of the difficulties in securing the funding - wish us luck!

We started the year with about 45 trainees arriving here during January, working in many different sectors across Torbay...that figure is only going to rise. Today we have groups from Spain and France in for a welcome meeting with two of their teachers. Thats 20 in one day! Brilliant!

 

So, Happy New Year...have a great 2013, be healthy and always be the best you can be...Have a good one!