Apprentices brush up on their Deutsch
A group of engineering apprentices from the Black Country have had a crash course in speaking German ahead of a cultural exchange.
Training experts BCTG, based in Oldbury, are taking the apprentices on a two-week work experience programme to businesses in Liepzig, Germany.
Another group of apprentices will head for Rybnik, in Poland, as part of the programme.
In total 32 young engineers based at Doosan Babcock Ltd in Tipton will get the chance to work with their European counterparts and take in some of the culture when they travel to Doosan Babcock Energy Polska and Doosan Babcock Energy Germany, in March.
Bosses at BCTG secured funding through the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme, which encourages work-related training abroad, to run the work-related trip.
The EU programme funds practical projects in the field of vocational education and enables young people to train in another country in their chosen sector.
Chris Luty, BCTG managing director, said the programme aimed to exchange best practices, increase expertise and make vocational education more attractive to young people. He added: "Before they set off we have organised a series of language classes for the apprentices so they can at least have a basic understanding of both German and Polish before they enter the workplace."
Billy Meldrum, Doosan Babcock training manager, said; "This is a great experience for our apprentices, who will work on all kinds of major nuclear power station projects and be given the opportunity to work not only throughout the UK, but also in Europe and beyond as they progress their careers.
"For Doosan Babcock, which has the largest apprenticeship programme in the engineering sector, it is very beneficial to be part of the BCTG peer group and make the most of opportunities such as this for the benefit of our apprentices."
