Work placements in Derby

From time to time people carry out work placements in their twin city organised by the Derby and Osnabrück Envoys. This is a good way for someone to improve their language skills and experience a different culture. Landau Forte College and Gesamtschule Schinkel also have an annual work placement exchange where a small group of pupils visits its twin city to take up work placements organised through the schools.

If you are interested in a work placement in Derby or Osnabrück, please get in touch with one of the Envoys and they will see whether they can help you.

Bastian Albert : 28 September 2007 – 30 June 2008

Hi

My name is Bastian Albert and I am 23 years old. Having passed my Bachelor degree, I decided to take a break and to go to England in order to work as an assistant teacher. I am now working at Landau Forte College and I teach German as well as Latin there. After all I am very glad to be in Derby and I would not like to miss this experience.

Bastian

Hello

My name is Tatjana Brozmann and I'm from Osnabrück.

At the moment I'm doing a work experience placement at Littleover Community School in Osnabrück I am studying English and Art, training for the teaching profession. As part of our studies, students must spend at least three months abroad. Fortunately I got to know the Osnabrück Envoy to Derby at an adult education centre in Osnabrück only a few months ago. I asked her to have a look for opportunities to do something in Derby. Incredibly, it was only one day after sending my application to her, that Littleover Community School contacted me. They welcomed me with open arms and found a really nice host family for me. Everything went without a hitch. In school my role is to help pupils with speaking practice, which is a major part of their GCSE examination.

Through the envoy I met other people from Osnabrück, who actually study with me in Osnabrück. Now we meet once a week and talk about our experiences, share ideas of what we can do in our free time; we even plan trips with one another. I did not realise how easy it was to set up my visit. I have to inform other students who may need some advice how to go about setting up a visit abroad. It goes without saying that the links between the two cities have had a very positive influence in providing me with an invaluable opportunity to enhance my knowledge of English.

I would recommend it to anyone who wishes a hospitable environment to improve his or her language and cultural knowledge.

Tatjana

Thomas Schäfer and Matthias Göcken : 8 October – 23 November 2007

Hi

We are Thomas Schäfer and Matthias Göcken. We worked from 8 October to 23 November for Derby City Council as part of our apprenticeship for Osnabrück City Council.

During our apprenticeship, we study for two years at the University of Hanover and work one year for Osnabrück City Council. The sections of study and work take turns. We have to work for another council in our last practice section. At our own request, we wanted to carry out this part of our apprenticeship at a council in a foreign country. Our boss offered us the chance to go to Derby, Osnabrück's twin city. The next days, we found out about Derby and the United Kingdom and decided to get involved in this adventure. We made a language course in Hastings a few months before, to be on the safe side.

The first day at the City Council was amazing. We lost our fear of not being able to communicate quickly. Our colleagues were very kind and helpful. They welcomed us with open arms and we joined our teams.

Thomas

My first section was Derby Direct, the contact centre of Derby City Council. I learnt lots of things about customer service at Derby City Council. I listened to phone calls from customers and how the staff advised them. I also worked at the main reception and attended to the customers.

I worked for Human Resources in the final three weeks. A many-sided scope of duties awaited me. I took part in a lot of meetings and training courses.

Matthias

My first section was Overview and Scrutiny, a new policy management system introduced a few years ago. I was a member of the co-ordination team who are responsible for commissions. My aim for the first four weeks was to understand how local government works in Derby. Additionally, I had to create a presentation about climate change action in Germany and Osnabrück. I presented my work to the Climate Change Commission. They were very impressed with the measures Germany will use to tackle climate change.

I spent the second part in Change and Performance Management. There I was involved in the current implementation of the Parking Service into Derby Direct. I supported the project manager as well as I could. For example, I wrote minutes for some of the meetings. A further part of my work was the review of the current performance management system.

Our time in Derby was a great experience all in all, both in and out of work. We explored the Peak District several times, a very beautiful and breathtaking area. Derby offers plenty of attractive places to go. We went to Pride Park for a football match and took part in a ghost walk. We also visited Nottingham and saw the Tales of Robin Hood and of course, we had a beer in the oldest pub in England. We will miss the "old fashioned" pubs now we are back in Germany and a lot of other things.

We would like to thank everybody in Derby and Osnabrück, who made this exchange possible. We hope that we could contribute to strengthen the friendship between Derby and Osnabrück. Hopefully, other exchanges will follow after this pilot project.

Thomas and Matthias

Kathrin Haselbach : September – December 2007

My name is Kathrin Haselbach and I am from Osnabrück. There, I am on a teacher training course and my main subjects are Mathematics and English as a foreign language as well as "Sachunterricht" which deals with basics of history, chemistry, physics and biology, but with social issues, too. As a part of my studies in English I came to Derby. For three months I had the pleasure of a work placement at the Borrow Wood Junior School. I enjoyed it very much because I had the chance to observe several different teaching and learning methods but also to teach as well. In different classes of year three and four I taught half an hour German each week. The children and I loved these lessons.

It was worth coming to Derby!

Kathrin

Johanna Mai : 10 July - 8 September 2007

Why is land development in England so much lower than in Germany? It was this question that brought me to England and more specifically, to Derby. Within the context of my dissertation I wanted to research in what way the English planning system prevents the uncontrolled expulsion of building areas and how it makes the planner treat the land resources carefully. The Pride Park Project in Derby served as an example of a successful land-recycling scheme. As well as gathering much helpful information for my work, I learned a bit more about Britain during my two month stay in Derby. As a town in itself Derby is already worth a visit and is a good starting point for excursions to the Peak District, Birmingham or Nottingham. As a geography student it was interesting to see the mixture of old and new in the towns and to see how green areas are brought into the town. The helpfulness of the envoy and my interviewees led to a successful research project. It was a trip that made me want to go back again.

Johanna