Exeter...an expanding market for us.

As we expand into Exeter we are attracting more and more companies seeking the benefits of hosting a European student or graduate. It is always exciting when we have an article in the press and this is no exception. Huge thanks to all the team at Astley Media for arranging a photo shoot and press release for us with the Express and Echo & The Exeter Daily... please share with anyone you know and help us to get the message out to all Exeter business that we are here and able to help. Here is the article, as it is on The Exeter Daily (with a couple of extra pictures and a few links!)

Call for Exeter firms to go International

A business that connects trainees from around the world with companies in Devon is expanding its work in Exeter.

The Training Partnership puts together companies with high-calibre trainees looking to improve their business skills, providing short term work placements that benefit both.  Placements are supernumerary and funded through EU schemes such as Erasmus+ and PONS.

Several Exeter-based organisations are already signed up, including the blur Group, Exeter City Council and MOTO.

Now the Training Partnership, based at the Torbay Innovation Centre, is encouraging other Exeter firms to work with trainees - many of them graduates with good language and business skills.

Ian Smith, The Training Partnership Work Placement Manager, said: “It’s a win-win for Exeter companies. If you need additional support for a particular project, or want to do market research, explore social media options or need foreign language skills, then we can help. We work with around 1,000 trainees every year on temporary placements that range from two weeks to six months.

“It’s a fantastic experience for people and companies to benefit from having extra support and a new member of the team from a different culture, working with them. We find that the more the company has a clear plan or defined project for trainees, the more they gain as a business. It’s also fun – there’s often a social aspect that employees embrace. We’ve had trainees organise wonderful Spanish lunches for colleagues and some great friendships are made.”

Nitin Moorjani, HR and Talent Executive at blur, commented: “We are committed to providing opportunities for young people across the different areas of the business.  The calibre of trainees which TTPL have provided us with have always been outstanding, they all are committed to performing at their best and adding value, which is also thanks to the ongoing support and training given by our team at blur.” 

Maureen Gori de Murden, Senior Economy & Tourism Officer, Exeter City Council said: “From day one, all our work placements are treated as a real employee. All of the trainees that TTPL have provided us with come highly motivated and are a valuable contribution to the team at Exeter City Council. We choose projects carefully to ensure that they have the right skill set to perform the task in hand.   During their time with us, they are able to develop commercial awareness and we see their confidence grow day by day."

The Training Partnership also offers overseas placements to UK trainees and graduates that include Teaching in Italy, Hospitality in France and Agriculture in USA.

The Training Partnership team will be attending a range of events in Exeter in the coming weeks to talk to companies about work placements.

To find out more contact The Training Partnership on 01803 321210 or email info@ttpl-uk.com

An excellent placement at SIBELCO - Marc is really lucky!

Sometimes at TTPL we get a request for a placement that makes us scratch our heads for a while....Spanish graduate Marc is such a student.

He (Marc) applied for a placement and requested a sector to cover 'Stratiographic or Geophysical Technologies' (I know, I didn't know either) which actually means that he specialises in mining and mineral extraction. Not a sector we have been asked for in the past! Well we do like a challenge.

After a bit of searching, calling friends and prodigious use of Linkedin we found some people who knew some people who put us in contact with the amazing team at SIBELCO in Newton Abbot. They extract and produce China Clay from a huge, and very well hidden, site in Kingsteignton, nr Newton Abbot.

Marc has a perfect project and Debra and I had the real pleasure of a tour around the mine and extraction plant last week - amazing! We were dressed in the usual PPE (modelled here by Debra with Marc in his usual Orange uniform) and then enjoyed a Landrover tour with Marc's supervisor Clover who commented that "In February Marc started his work placement with us at Sibelco Uk working with the Operations Geologist. He is currently carrying out excellent work creating databases and helping to build one of our Geological models. This work is valuable and will be an important contribution to the evaluation that is to be carried out this year." 
It is always good to hear that our students are doing so well in their placements, particularly a placement as unique as this. The mine is a strange almost alien landscape that is both fascinating and daunting - they work on such a huge scale you feel very small...even in a big 4x4!

Thank you to all who made this possible, hope you like the pictures (on our Facebook page) and keep a look out for a blog from Marc about his experiences here in South Devon.

Clover, Debra and student Marc

Embercombe - a perfect Partnership

One of the things we pride ourselves on is the forming of solid partnerships with other organisations - so it is with Embercombe

If you have never been, it really is worth a visit.

Since our first visit back in 2012 it has become one of our favourite places and a regular venue for our visiting delegate groups - demonstrating what is available to an audience from all over Europe.

Embercombe provides, what they describe as, a transformative residential programme for young people aged 13 to 17. In reality what it does is stimulate the minds of young people to move towards a truly sustainable world.

It is also a great place for our Cross Cultural Communication courses - an inspiring and empowering learning environment that really does enhance the programmes we run there.

Their courses last between 5 and 10 days

The aim of the programme is to encourage and develop young people's skills and awareness to help support them in their transition into future entrepreneurship and employment. Embercombe residential programmes focus on inspiring and empowering young people, connecting them to a world where they feel able to make positive change.

From breakfast to evening we encourage individuals to speak together and to explore their conversational abilities through practical and social activities. Young people will be asked to be seen, to take risks, to make choices, to speak out, to take responsibility and to care.

The programme aims for participants to achieve the following;

• Speak English in small groups
• A more positive relationship with work
• A stronger sense of community and the role they play within it
• Improved self confidence
• Practical skills that are transferable into the workplace
• A deeper understanding of sustainability
• An improved understanding of individuals gifts and skills
• To have fun

The best thing to do is, of course, to arrange a visit - if we can help you, please just ask. 

For more information contact
Nadine Stroud - Business Development Director
Nadine@ttpl-uk.com
+44 (0)1803 321 210
www.embercombe.co.uk/education 
In collaboration with:
Skills for Life

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..