VI Challenge winners!

Team TTPL are extremely pleased to be 2016 WESC Foundation VI Challenge winners.

The event, organised by Listen2Win and held at the WESC Foundation in Exeter on Wednesday 13^th July, was a chance for teams to enter challenges without the aid of sight. These included a blindfolded penalty shootout, 50 metre sprint and traverse climbing wall.

The series of challenges were ran by three England international blind team players. Without the aid of sight, the simplest thing can become extremely challenging and watching professionals set the precedent for the challenges was astounding.

Six teams competed in the games and Team TTPL was made up of five staff members and two fantastic students. Cosmin, currently on a work placement with TTPL in Exeter was a fantastic addition to the team and set an unbelievable sightless 50 metre sprint time of under 7 seconds! Enrico, also on a work placement in Exeter also made a fantastic contribution, competing in a ‘Chinese whispers’ challenge. The game hinged on good verbal communication – to have somebody using their second language for this is a real credit to Enrico.

As for the TTPL staff members, a mixture of competitiveness and never-say-die attitude resulted in the team lifting the trophy. The evening highlighted how much can be achieved with communication and also showed the incredible level that visually impaired athletes can reach.

The event was raising money for the WESC Foundation - a specialist centre for visual impairment. For more information visit: https://www.wescfoundation.ac.uk/

A universal language

With UEFA Euro 2016 coming to an end, TTPL’s Dan talks about the role football plays in uniting people.

It’s been a tough few weeks being English and a football fan. With Brexit talk and football violence dominating the news, it’s been easy to feel negative. Although I feel the EU exit is a disappointing result and violent scenes in France were horrible, I can say that what I’ve experienced on a first-hand basis has only filled me with positivity.

It’s a real pleasure frequently meeting new people from across Europe – it’s the biggest perk to my job and I feel lucky to have the opportunity. It’s inspiring meeting such motivated people, coming to another country to further improve language skills and enhance career prospects. With the level of English being so good, it’s easy to communicate, but I do speak one other language – football!

Football is a universal language and so often the icebreaker. Recent violence has again unfortunately damaged the reputation of the sport, but it shouldn’t hide the fact it unites and brings more people together than any other activity I can think of.

It was tough walking in to our student social the day after England exited UEFA Euro 2016 to minnows Iceland. I could see the faces of certain people just waiting to ask what I made of the game. Losing to a country with a population about the size of Torbay and Exeter wasn’t the happiest moment in my time as an England fan!

This week, our Exeter student social moved to Allstars Sport Bar so we could all support Daniel, Ricardo and Luis, our Portuguese contingent, as their team faced Britain’s last nation – Wales. With an even split of fans from both nations it was a fantastic atmosphere and our Portuguese boys songs and celebrations were fantastic. I may have joined in – sorry Wales!

With Portugal winning 2 - 0, there were some serious celebrations and no doubt our Portuguese and French students will be creating another big atmosphere for the final on Sunday. Although the real excitement will come when we have our alternate European Championship at our next weekly meeting!

Five reasons why we love Exeter

Max working at Radio 1's Big Weekend

1. Fantastic employment opportunities

Exeter has and continues to be a fantastic place for professional employment. We’ve heard some amazing stories from our students based in Exeter. From managing marketing projects to representing businesses at events and ceremonies, Exeter provides amazing opportunities.

Just look at our student Max – attending BBC workshops and working at Radio 1’s Big Weekend!

2. All the perks of a city with a small town feel

Students at Artigiano

Exeter has everything you’d expect a city to offer but retains a community feel. There can’t be many cities that have somewhere like the quiet and cosy Gandy Street – supposedly inspiration for Harry Potter’s ‘Diagon Alley’, tucked away in the city centre.

3. Shopping, eating & drinking

From boutique shops to the big names in Princesshay, there’s just about everything to satisfy even the biggest shopaholic. There’s also a host of amazing options for eating out – we love our weekly student meeting at Artigiano Espresso & Wine Bar in the High Street.

4. Coast and countryside is just around the corner

From the hills of Dartmoor National Park, to the beautiful coastline around Dawlish Warren and Exmouth, Exeter is nestled in the perfect location.

Dartmoor National Park

5. Exeter continues to grow

There’s lots to look forward to with the development of the city. The science park continues to grow, more employment opportunities are on the horizon with big names like Ikea coming to the area and the success of Princesshay continues. A £75 million development has been announced this year, which involves transforming part of Exeter’s bus and coach station site into a new retail and leisure destination incorporating a new cinema, restaurants, cafes, shops, as well as a new public square.

We’re currently looking for more host families in Exeter - contact andrea@ttpl-uk.com or call 01803 321210 for more information

UK EU Referendum Vote

We are sure that you have all heard the unfortunate news of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU.  It is a very sad situation and whilst we are happy that democracy allows a country to join together in a shared conversation about its future, it was a conversation unfortunately manipulated by propaganda despite the best efforts of our business leaders.

We would like to reassure you that it is business as usual for us here.  This is only the first step to withdrawal and the very beginning of negotiations.  There must now be a majority vote by both the European Council and the European Parliament, this means that 20 out of 27 member states must agree with the decision to allow us to leave and there must be a simple majority of the 751 MEP’s.  We cannot comprehend that this will happen easily and in addition this must all be agreed within a 2 year time frame which is just not achievable.

With regards to the free movement of people, mobility and Erasmus+ funded projects, the Council of the European Union made its view on this issue clear in December 2014: ‘the free movement of persons is a fundamental pillar of EU policy… the internal market and its four freedoms are indivisible’.

Erasmus+ funding is agreed and allocated over a 7 year cycle so we do not foresee that this will be affected, we will still need to remain a part of the EEA and continue working with EU countries much like Switzerland does.  In order to do this the UK cannot reasonably enforce border restrictions for EU citizens so programmes should continue to run as they currently do.

We hope that this helps alleviate the uncertainty, we do not think that there will be any major changes to the way we operate within the next 5-8 years.  The UK could not consider leaving the single market so it is our considered opinion that it will be business as usual and we can be trusted to provide the same exceptional service that we always have.

2016 to date has been a very successful year, 97% of participants are happy to recommend us and as you can see they are very happy with the service we offer. 

Student Feedback

            

Please rest assured that we will continue to work at the exceptional level we always have.

I’m available on Nadine@ttpl-uk.com

Kindest regards

Nadine Stroud

Director

Striving for the best service – a look at 2016 so far…

It’s hard to believe we are approaching the half way point of 2016 already – it’s been a busy and brilliant year so far. It’s always a pleasure to read some of the feedback we receive from students, employers and hosts.

We pride ourselves on having one of the highest customer satisfaction rates in the industry, so it’s great to see some of the figures so far in 2016:

•          97% of students in 2016 would recommend TTPL

•           96% of students rated TTPL 8 or above out of 10

Student comments on TTPL:

“A great experience that changes your life”

“An enormous improvement to your CV” 

“Helpful and kind persons to assist you”

“A chance to make new friends”

“A big improvement of your knowledge of the English language”

“A possibility to visit new beautiful places”

“Lots of events and places to have fun”

20 years of TTPL: the Devon dictionary

This year, TTPL is celebrating 20 years of creating inspirational work experience, vocational training and language study programmes for international students and graduates.

The Devon Flag

In the coming weeks, there’ll be a variety of themed blogs starting with 20 local words and sayings. Many of these are often used in Devon and if you’ve heard any and wondering what on Earth it means, then here’s a quick guide:

1) Grockle

A grockle is what Devonians call holidaymakers.

Example: Sorry I’m late, the roads were full of grockles!

2) Proper job

A general way of saying something is good.

Example: It’s a bank holiday this weekend? Proper job!

3) Handsome

Another way of saying something is good, or ‘me handsome’ can be used as a greeting.

Example: Alright me handsome?

4) My lover

Use the word ‘lover’ carefully, as it can mean something quite different outside of the Westcountry. In Devon, ‘my lover’ is a nice way to refer to anyone.

Example: Alright my lover?

5) Maid

Similar to ‘my lover’ but used to refer to females.

Example: She was a lovely little maid.

6) Directly

Often used as a way of saying something will happen soon, pronounced ‘dreckly’.

Example: I’ll be with you dreckly.

7) Get on

Shortened to ‘geddon’, can be used to answer pretty much anything!

Example: “Alright mate?”

“Yeah geddon!”

8) Where’s it to?

A Westcountry way of asking where something is. Can also be used with ‘you’.

Example: Where you to?

9) Gurt

Usually used in place of the word ‘great’, gurt can mean ‘big’ or ‘very’.

Example: That’s a gurt big tractor!

10) Tiswas

A way of describing someone who is confused

Example: She was in a bit of a tiswas

11) Ee

Many Devonians will replace ‘it’ and ‘he’ with ‘ee’.

Example: Put ee over there.

12) Bey

A male friend, usually used in a greeting.

Example: alright bey?

13) Wasson

A shortened way of saying ‘what’s on?’  

Example: Wasson bey?

14) Ooh arr:

A way of expressing joy or satisfaction.

Example: ooh arr I'm excited for the weekend!

15) You beauty

Pronounced ‘you beaudy’, said to someone who’s just done a good job of something.

Example: Gedon you beaudy!

16) Innit

A shortened way of saying ‘isn’t it’.

Example: Innit lovely weather today!

17) Jammy

Used to describe someone who is very lucky.

Example: Ee just won money on the lottery, ee’s so jammy!

18) Gannet

A gannet is a type of seabird, but is used to describe somebody who’s always hungry and always eating.

Example: I can’t believe you’re still eating you gannet!

19) Janner

A slightly derogatory term used to describe somebody from Plymouth.

Example: Geddon you janner!

20) Yer tis

‘Yer tis’ is simply a short way of saying ‘yes it is’.

Example: “Is this the end of the blog post?”

“Yer tis!”

A celebration of collaboration at Artizan Gallery

The Training Partnership have been busy celebrating continued collaboration this week ahead of Paignton Zoo’s Great Big Rhino Project. The fantastic Artizan Gallery played host to an evening for supporters to discover more about the project and featured talks from Paignton Zoo’s Simon Tonge and Pippa Craddock. The talks highlighted the tragic reality of rhinos in the wild and the threat of extinction among certain species.

Nadine with Dino Rhino artist Jess

The Great Big Rhino Project will see life-sized rhino models brilliantly decorated by local artists on display across the streets of Devon this summer, raising money for vital conservation and education work. 

TTPL have sponsored one of the 40 rhinos set to be on display – the magnificent Dino Rhino! We think artist Jess Miller has done a fantastic job with some amazing and intricate painting.

The evening at Artizan, hosted by Anthony Blackaby of Scribble & Ink also featured canapés and prosecco courtesy of Pier Point and special-edition Rhino Ale by Bays Brewery. Over £70 was raised on the night through generous donations. 

We’ve all been very touched by the collaboration and partnership shown  between businesses and individuals to raise money for such a fantastic cause through such a brilliant idea.

 

The trail of painted rhinos across Torbay and Exeter will come alive on Saturday July 30 – be sure to look out for Dino Rhino!

Click Here If you would like to find out more and make a donation

Incredible opportunities in agriculture around the world

The benefits of living and working in another country are endless. Unforgettable experiences, learning new skills and languages, standing out from the crowd to future employers – the list goes on! The following agricultural programmes also have a huge added benefit of offering paid positions…

Iceland

Discover dramatic Icelandic landscapes, learn a new language and live amongst locals. Paid programmes range from dairy, mixed, livestock, horse or gardening farms. Timescale can range from 8 weeks to 12 months and the most popular dates are April to September.

Click Here for more

Australia

Anyone for an Aussie Outback adventure? Discover the amazing expanse of countryside that Australia has to offer.

The programme ensures that your first steps on the other side of the world aren’t too daunting and a training ranch will set you up before transferring to your chosen job. Work is varied and can be selected according to your requirements. Programmes run throughout the year so the start date is very flexible.

Click Here for more

Netherlands

The Netherlands is one of the world-leaders in farming techniques, processing and infrastructure, making it an ideal place to broaden your knowledge of the industry. 

There’s a great range of placements on offer, from dairy, arable and livestock farming to field vegetable production and cheese making. Paid programmes range from 13-52 weeks and are best-suited to those with previous experience.

Click Here for more

USA

The USA is known as the Land of Opportunity and with very good reason! From the tall trees of the Pacific Northwest to the wide open plains of the Midwest, the country has exciting experiences for all levels of experience.

If you’re an agricultural student, long-term programmes provide a first-hand learning experience that will greatly boost your CV.

Click Here for more

Ireland

If you’re looking for a placement as part of your studies, the Emerald Isle’s lush landscape of rolling green hills could be the perfect place. 

Whether it’s a dairy farm, horse ranch or in agro-tourism, you’ll be fully supported throughout the stay, living on a full-board basis in a farmhouse or homestay.

Click Here for more

Four fun things to do this Bank Holiday Weekend

Brixham Pirate Festival 2016

This weekend thousands will descend on the small and friendly fishing town of Brixham. It’s a great place to visit and the added mixture of pirates, live music and market stalls make it a must this Bank Holiday.

Regular buses run to Brixham, but the best and cheapest way of getting there is by boat from Torquay. Western Lady runs a regular ferry service – the 35-minute journey is a great way to see the bay and a return journey costs £3. More info can be found here: http://www.westernladyferry.com/

The festival takes place 30th April – 2nd May

http://brixhampirates.com/

BMAD Paignton Bike Festival

This weekend, Bikers Make a Difference (BMAD) will transform Paignton Green into an adrenaline junkie’s dream! In addition to the masses of motorbikes, there will be displays, rides, live music and the infamous Wall of Death!

The festival takes place 29th April – 1st May

http://www.bmad.co.uk/festival.html

Firework Display at Goodrington Sands

To celebrate the start of the 2016 season at Splashdown Waterpark, there will be a free firework display at the beachfront on Saturday evening. If you haven’t been to Goodrington before, the sandy stretch of beach is a pretty place to spend some time.

Fireworks start at around 9:15 p.m.

More information can be found here: http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/whats-on/fireworks-splashdown-quaywest-p1866183

Exe Estuary Trail

If you’re living in Exeter and fancy getting out of the city for the day, then the Exe Estuary Trail is a great way to do so. Bicycles can be rented from various places around Exeter Quay – from there you can pick up the trail along the canal. If you fancy a short ride then a 2-3 mile round trip to Turf Locks is a great option. The pub has a large beer garden overlooking the Exe Estuary, perfect for a hard-earned halfway drink!

If you’re feeling very energetic, then the trail leads right to Powderham Castle – about a 12 mile round-trip from Exeter Quay. On Saturday 30th April Powderham will also be holding a Garden Festival. Tickets are £7.50 on the day and includes admission to the garden festival, speaker programme and Powderham Castle.

Cycle Hire: http://www.sadpad.com/

Estuary Trail: http://www.heartofdevon.com/dbimgs/The%20exe%20estuary%20trail%20pdf(2).pdf

Powderham Garden Festival: http://www.tobygardenfest.co.uk/pages/finding-us

Five amazing places for an overseas work programme

In 2016, TTPL has launched a fantastic range of global programmes. From ranch stays in America to internships in China - there’s lots to get excited about. Here’s a pick of the most amazing places to live, work and discover who you are…

Mauritius

From powder-white beaches and sapphire waters, to waterfalls and luscious green rainforest – the word paradise springs to mind. 

Professional internships are available in sectors such as hospitality, finance, engineering, marketing and tourism. What a brilliant way to experience the amazing culture of this unique island in the Indian Ocean!

South Africa

Few places have a more beautiful location than the energetic and diverse Cape Town. The South African city finds itself between stunning coastline and the incredible Table Mountain. 

Popular internships on offer in Cape Town include business and entrepreneurship, medical and health care, human rights and social work.

China

Shanghai, China’s biggest city, is futuristic-looking and fast-paced. It’s also a global financial hub, making it an ideal place for internships in finance and business. 

Other programmes include teaching and healthcare – the city is an urban metropolis of opportunity.

Malta

The small Mediterranean island of Malta boasts some beautiful coastline, is packed with historical sites and home to some of the most welcoming people you could ever wish to meet. An ideal place to head for an internship if you’re new to travelling.

Italy

From the wonderful mountains of Piedmont, to the beautiful historic city of Torino, the north of Italy is simply stunning. Soak up the Italian city culture while teaching in Torino, or perhaps the title of ‘Mountain Camp Counsellor’ is too tempting to turn down!

Click here for our Global Programmes brochure

Dino Rhino is born!

After lots of planning and preparation, work on TTPL's Dino Rhino has begun.

The name may sound like a bad B movie, but it's actually part of Paignton Zoo's Great Big Rhino Project. Be sure to look out for the 30 life-size rhinos that will be scattered around the streets, parks and open spaces of the English Riviera and Exeter this summer. The fantastic project is raising funds for the conservation of endangered Javan and Sumatran rhinos.

If you can't wait until the summer, the TTPL-sponsored Dino Rhino is on display as it comes to life at the Spanish Barn in Torquay. Local artist Jess Miller has the slightly daunting task of intricately painting the life-size rhino and is already doing a stunning job.

Jess is currently studying at Plymouth College of Art and specialises in wildlife portraits. Having already painted a life-size gorilla as part a previous Paignton Zoo project, we are all confident that Dino Rhino is going to be brilliant!

More information on the project can be found here: http://www.greatbigrhinos.org.uk/

TTPL Student Ambassadors - One Year On!

Our ‘Student Ambassador’ scheme has been running for a whole year now and has been even more successful than we dared hope.   The role was created to act as a link between us and our students; to offer a more inclusive approach to our welfare and support.

From Susi and Nikolas to Jonathan and Nuria, they have all been outstanding in their attitude and commitment, they've immersed themselves in their UK experience and helped so many other students along the way.

Our nominated Ambassadors act as a link with our students,  sharing helpful hints and tips for enjoying life here in sunny Devon, keeping everyone up to date with the social scene and local events and generally ensuring all our students are happy with their whole experience, especially outside of the workplace.

As well as attending our weekly cultural and social meetings, where they help our students enjoy visits to local tourist attractions, activities such as bowling or experience a real Devon Cream Tea, they also come along to our weekly Conversation Café’s to encourage everyone  to mix and chat in English about their experiences and (more importantly) make plans for the weekends!

Last week we said goodbye to Jonathan in Exeter and welcomed Clara to the role.  

Nuria will also be leaving shortly and so the hunt is on for our next Torbay Student to take on the baton, and so it continues . . .