At the beginning of November, fifteen fourth-year students of the Hotel Management Technical School left for a month-long placement in Chemnitz, Saxony. “We remember it very well,” says student Beata Jaworska. “We learned a lot. We overcame language barriers.”
Before the ZSOiZ students left for Saxony, however, they completed 65 hours of training: 50 hours of German and 15 hours of educational and cultural preparation. The intensive study was not in vain. The students from Bolesławiec communicated very well with trainees from Germany and elsewhere. They also had no problems understanding lectures in the language of our western neighbors.
Plate-carrying techniques, guest service, menu planning, and a floristry course were just some of the elements included in the placement program. “The standard of education in Chemnitz is truly high,” emphasizes Barbara Smoleńska, deputy headmistress of ZSOiZ. The students learned to bake Saxon specialties. They also found out how to prepare a hotel’s offer in order to attract as many guests as possible.
The placement organizers also made sure that the residents of Bolesławiec would not be bored in their free time. The trainees had the opportunity to visit Leipzig and Berlin, and also saw, among other things, the oldest porcelain factory in Europe. “After classes, we played billiards, bowled, played volleyball and football. We went to discos,” says student Sylwek Rydzak.
How did the ZSOiZ students communicate with trainees from the Czech Republic and Turkey? “In English, German, Czech, Turkish and sign language,” the students list. “We learned how to conduct ourselves,” says Ela Kolińska, a fourth-year student of the Hotel Management Technical School. “We were thrown in at the deep end. We had to manage,” she adds. What is more, the group from Bolesławiec became very close to the students from Turkey. The trainees exchanged email addresses and telephone numbers.
The 15 trainees will soon receive Europass Mobility certificates, which will help them find work in Poland and other EU countries. “The placement coordinators praised our students highly—both for their language skills and their vocational preparation,” says Edyta Chomiaczewska, a teacher at ZSOiZ. “They kept repeating that I could be proud of this group,” she adds.
(GA information)