Eagle-eyed local residents may well have spotted someone new serving them in local businesses over the last couple of months as Swansea welcomed a group of twelve German exchange students to the city.
The students have been working in local companies and improving their language skills as part of a work-based training programme financed by the Hamburg Ministry of Education.
The project was extended to Swansea at the recommendation of the Project Co-ordinator, Christiane Albers. “I came to Swansea last year as I was looking for a second location for the project and I fell in love with the city. I immediately saw that it would be an ideal location and the welcome all the students have received has been amazing.”
The project’s success is thanks to partnership working between the hosting companies and the language centre where the students have been improving their English. “English Language Training Services (ELTS) at Swansea University was a great choice of the project partner” continues Christiane. “They have done amazing things for the students’ confidence and found us brilliant companies to work with.”
For many of the students the trip has been a life-changing opportunity. “ Many of them just never dreamt of working abroad or studying in a university, but four weeks in Swansea have given them a whole new outlook” added Wendy Swaby, the group’s English tutor in Hamburg. The visit is part of a vocational training course in Hamburg organised by artis, Swansea University’s German partner organisation, with financial backing from Hamburg local government. In an exciting development, a delegation from a Hospitality Management College in Hamburg and the Education Ministry also came to Swansea to discuss further collaboration, with the desire to send Swansea students to Hamburg in the future.
Local organisations who agreed to take the 12 students included: The Chamber of Commerce, Frogmore Consulting and The Pettifor Trust, The Village Hotel, Icon Hairdressing, Katie Francis florists, Swansea Museum and Savers Health and Beauty, plus Residential Services, Catering Services and Student Services at Swansea University.
