German students get a taste for life in UK

12 apprentices from Regensburg College, Germany, visited Tameside College as part of the Erasmus+ programme to learn all about engineering techniques and skills used in the UK.

The Erasmus+ programme, which is funded by the European Union, gives students from its member states the opportunity to visit other countries to study in a different culture.

The trip, which lasted three weeks, included sightseeing around Manchester, visiting the John Ryland’s Library, Old Trafford football stadium and more. Following this the students were split into groups of three and spent a week working at various engineering companies including: Sherwin-Williams, Krones UK and more.

For the final week of their stay the students visited Tameside College’s Advanced Technology Centre to spend time learning about what equipment students use whilst studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. They were given a tour of the brand new Advanced Technologies Centre, shown how to use the state-of-the-art virtual welder and even programmed and built a miniature sorting machine using pneumatics.

For their hard work and commitment during the trip, the students were given a farewell presentation by Peter Redfern, curriculum leader for engineering at Tameside College and awarded prizes for various projects they had taken part in during their stay.

Peter Redfern, said: “It’s been a great three weeks with these apprentices. They have worked so hard and done so much during their stay. I hope that they take home a lot of what they have learnt and use it to their advantage. We can’t wait to hopefully welcome the next group of Erasmus+ visitors next year.”

Daniel Steinberger, an apprentice with the Erasmus+ programme, said: “Thank you to Tameside College and the staff for making the experience possible. It has been fantastic and everyone at the college and at the companies we worked at have made us feel at home.”