WETM-IAC Conference - Nadine and Wendy travel to Portugal to promote Torbay and South Devon

Last  weekend, when we were all relaxing, Nadine and Wendy were off to Portugal for the 2015 WETM - IAC Conference - they got back to sunny Torbay on Wednesday and here Nadine shares her thoughts.

We were in Lisbon at the start of the week for the WETM-IAC 2015 conference, an annual industry get together for the Work Experience and Travel market. 

We met some amazing people, listened to inspiring speakers and shared knowledge with industry leaders from across the globe.   

Here’s what I learned:

• Brazilian barbecue is without doubt the only way to eat.
• Portugese coffee can keep you awake almost all night
• The Rooster of Barcelos is a nationally loved emblem that is slightly disconcerting when life size!

But anyway back to the serious stuff…

Simplicity, Traceability, Community and Participation are core principles that drive our young people in the 21^st century.  The Sharing culture, whether it be software, platforms, cars, land or knowledge is growing at a crazy rate and looks likely to dominate the next decade. 

Generation Y values authenticity, shared experiences and community and their passion to make a difference in the world sends them far and wide.  We met with many youth travel organisations and heard the same thing time and again…there is a huge demand for young native English speakers all over the world! 

As a country we are really rather slow to promote the amazing opportunities available and this needs to change.  America, of course, does it brilliantly already and in the next few years TTPL will look to do the same.  We will expand upon our Outbound portfolio to further promote the benefits of travel, work and culture.  We already offer agriculture and teaching programmes in USA and Italy but we’ll be looking to other sectors and countries that can offer fantastic educational experiences for the UK’s adventure minded young adults. 

Look out USA, we’re coming for you!

TTPL Student Ambassadors!

Here at TTPL we appreciate that the time our students spend outside of their vocational work placement is just as important in contributing to their whole UK experience as that spent in it.

The introduction of our weekly Conversation Café’s has been a real success, ensuring Students have the opportunity to socialise in a relaxed setting with our staff and each other, whilst improving their English speaking skills and confidence.  

Now a new initiative is being launched to recognise and encourage the enormous support the students give to each other, often without our knowledge, as we nominate current students Nicolas and Susi as our new STUDENT AMBASSADORS

Nicolas and Susi each have a Facebook page and will be working with our Student Support team to share helpful hints and tips for enjoying life here in sunny Devon, keeping everyone up to date with any local events and generally ensuring all our students are happy.

When their stay comes to an end, they will ‘pass the baton’ to the next volunteer and so the support will continue.

Take a look at Nicolas and Susi’s Facebook pages here:

TTPLstudentExeter                       TTPLstudentTorbay 

 Susi (Exeter):
A great thank you to the TTPL giving me the chance to become a student ambassador for Exeter! I'm really looking forward to get to know all you nice people from all over the world via my new Facebook account.                                                                                 Nicolas (Torquay):

Thank you all for giving me this great opportunity! I'm delighted to be working with you as a student ambassador for Torquay via my new Facebook account.                                                         

And, when they do return home, they can join our new LinkedIn Alumni page, which we hope will share opportunities and successes for all our TTPL Graduates when they return home.

Exeter City Council ... Einer kommt, einer geht! – One out…one in!

Exeter City Council - Economy & Tourism are one of our most engaging and interesting placements...it is always very special when our students make such an impact.

In the last three months Torben has been working very hard for us in Economy & Tourism as part of an international work placement programme. Torben, who has never visited Devon before, took many opportunities during his stay to visit as much as he could of the county and has taken some amazing photographs.  Before returning to his home near Hamburg this month, Torben is visiting Dublin, Belfast and London.  He is hoping that, job placement permitting, he can return to Exeter in a few months for a holiday and to sample some of the local food at the much talked about Food and Drink Festival and to visit more of the South West of England.

As Torben sadly leaves us, Economy & Tourism are happy to welcome his replacement, Susanne who is also from near Hamburg.  Susi will be with us for six months and is looking forward to learning more about the City, its economy and English culture.  We are expecting that Susan will also know all there is to know about Rugby before she leaves us!

What can a European student do for my business?

We hear so much negativity about young people and students, how they lack skills and have no interest, rude and not motivated that it is easy to simply dismiss them all....perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way!

If you really want to find out what skills young people have, you must ask them, talk to them and above all, give them a chance. Often, all that is needed is an opportunity, a chance to shine, to make a huge difference, not just to the student but to you and your team - think back to your 'First Day'; how scared were you? everything different and new. Now add the fear of a different language and you are somewhere close, don't forget, you are also 2000 miles from home, family and all things familiar - what courage and commitment these guys demonstrate! 

In answer to the original question, "What can a European student do for my business?", ...What is it you would you like them to do?

With such a wide range of skills, languages and abilities it is quite likely that at some point we will have a suitable student for you. A young person who is looking to expand their experience and their mind - and in the process giving their time, unpaid, to you and your business. 

This isn't for everyone though, there is a particular mindset to successful placements, altruistic and patient with the desire to make a difference. The greater the input at the very beginning, the greater the impact the student will have.

Here at TTPL we have around about 1000 students each year, that can bring skills, enthusiasm, courage and a vibrancy that will infuse into your workplace. 

So if you have an idea for a project; the need for a skill; some help in your office and/or a great desire to be a motivational part of someones life then contact us, like many businesses in South Devon have done already - you never know quite how much impact it could have on your business.

The benefits of this are many fold; as an employer you have a motivated, career minded young person with a great range of skills, often up to graduate level, with a strong desire to speak and understand English: for the student, a life altering experience, their driving force is having a CV that will lift them above the average, make them employable, help them ‘grow’ and of course be fluent in English. 

There is no doubt that by offering a placement you will change peoples lives, the other side to that is in return they may change the life of your business, your employees and of course, you. 

Call us..

2015...its flying by!

Happy New Year...the Christmas and New Year festivities are now a distant memory and here at TTPL towers we are already well under way with this years students.

We are creeping ever closer to having our new website completed - I have seen some of the design pages and can't wait to see it 'live' - really exciting stuff for us and will be a great new experience for our Students, Partners, Placements and Hosts. #excited

So sat at my desk, looking at a clear blue sky (even though it is cold) the possibilities for 2015 seem almost endless. We have two groups of Teachers and a group of Nurses booked in in the first quarter of this year, along with well over 500 students booked already. It is at times like this we realise just how efficient the TTPL team are, organising host families and work placements, student meetings and delegate visits - all running like clockwork! Laura, who joined us only last December, has settled in and is now part of the TTPL team. Kerry is still looking after all of our visiting students as Student Support Officer and Sam and Lorenzo who went off travelling at the end of 2014 are now journeying around the world, soaking up sun and culture (and perhaps the occasional cold beer).

The weekly student meetings are as well attended as ever and our students have already seen the film 'Taken 3' last week at VUE Cinema and had a General Knowledge quiz at the always popular DT's. We have two great students in our office, both have settled in really well and enjoying their time in Torbay - their blogs are already published and are here: Manon and Diana

We have introduced a couple of new Certificates, the first, based solely on the student evaluation questionnaires, is awarded to Work Placements who provide amazing experiences for our students. The first batch of about 70 certificates were presented at an event just before Christmas and already they are apparent when we are out visiting our placements - I saw this one at Shoreline in Paignton, always a popular placement. The other certificate is for 'Student Excellence', this was prompted by an email from a Work Placement extolling the virtues of the young man that is carrying out his placement with them. So a big Thank You to Maureen at Exeter City Council and a huge Well Done to Torben - the first of many I am certain.

As a final point, those that know me will know that I am quite partial to watching the odd game of Rugby...our friends and media marketing gurus Astley Media gave us a little present - we have an autographed rugby ball from Exeter Chiefs, it has pride of place on the shelf behind my desk for the time being and will, I hope, bring a little luck during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. We have not yet decided what to do with the ball but watch this space.

I and all the TTPL team hope that 2015 brings you all the health and happiness that you want and deserve.

Have a good one

Ian

(Work Placement Manager)

Merry Christmas

This is the last blog of 2014...

What a year it has been, one of the best summers we have seen here in a long time - some amazing Student Meetings around Torbay, new hosts and workplacements' plus loads more. So here is a quick catch up of the previous 12 months...

We have gained 4 members of our team...Debra, Lisa, Kerry and Laura - WELCOME once again!

We said good bye to Debbie, Sam and Lorenzo - Stay safe and have fun guys.

Our new website is nearly ready and should be live very early in the new year (fingers crossed!)

Our last Student Meeting of the year was held at Applebys in Torquay - a fantastic afternoon and loads of dressing up fun...pictures are here on our Facebook Page - and a Merry Christmas from our students!

We did really well with our student numbers, and finished the year with 947 participants and we already have 400 plus booked for next year...we even have some bookings for 2016!!!!!

Most of all; we have all enjoyed every single day of 2014 and it would seem so have our students! An amazing 97% of them would recommend TTPL, with an average score of 8.9 out of 10 for overall satisfaction - stunning! All due to the exceptional work and effort from our Host Families, our Work Placements and the entire Training Partnership team.

So... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at TTPL

Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, Bon Nadal, Frohe Weihnachten, Vrolijk Kerstfeest, Buon Natale, Crăciun Fericit, Gleðileg jól 

Merry Christmas!

SEE YOU IN 2015!

Hello from Laura - Welcome

You may recall that we recently began recruiting for a new Admin Assistant for our office, I'm pleased to say that out of all the applicants we had, we found our new member of the TTPL Team...

Season’s Greetings!

Christmas has come early for the Training Partnership with a new addition to the team! My name is Laura and I am fresh out of university where I studied Criminology and Social Policy. In additional to my studies, I was also provided with the opportunity to work with international students. This went on to spark my interest in pursuing a form of employment that involved working with such a diverse collection of individuals whilst also combining my office skills.

As for my interests, I enjoy nothing more than hanging out with my friends, travelling and animals. My most memorable travel destination has to be Australia, where I got to cuddle cute koalas and swim with scary sharks. But nothing was scarier than nearly missing the ferry from Magnetic Island back to Cairns, where myself and two others had to jump down onto a moving ferry with all our bags in order to avoid missing it!

Anyway less about me and more about my first week at the Training Partnership. I have been learning the ropes of the office whilst getting to know my fellow colleagues. Some of the tasks I have been learning include organising and preparing student welcome packs to the all-important task of learning staff tea and coffee preferences. However what is most exciting is some of the upcoming activities I will be participating in such as meeting new faces at the Student Welcome Meetings and getting to know our students better via the weekly activity meetings. 

But most of all I look forward to my future with the Training Partnership and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Welcome to the team Laura, from all at TTPL