My trip to Ceuta was amazing. I enjoyed it very much, from the people I was working with to experiencing the different foods and shops on offer, and interacting with in a new culture with new types of people in. I also learned new skills, I now know more about Ceuta, taxation and Spain in such a short period of time. I have experienced new culture, different behaviours, different food, everything was different and the weather as well. I made many new friends at work and also with native people we met during our stay.
My mentor was very nice to me, helping me overcome the language barrier with the girls in the office, and also talked to me about Ceuta from a business and personal perspective. Staff Personal was a very nice small office with very friendly and helpful people which helped me to create friendships and gain more knowledge about Ceuta, business in general, business in Spain, secretarial skills, and language.
It was the first time I was in a different country on my own and it made me feel brave and independent enough to handle the language barrier as well as testing how well I was prepared in relation to skills and knowledge. I am definitely going to continue to study Spanish in the future. This Erasmus+ Placement has helped me to not only learn a new language but also how to develop it. I also learned how to build up the confidence to believe that I would be fine in whatever country I will work in in the future if I decide to work somewhere else. It was an excellent opportunity and I was glad that I was able to experience it. I have also developed new communication skills.
This experience will definitely stand out on my CV and it is the opportunity for me to have a better chance to get a job that I will like. I can use the things I learned and put them into practice. I am very grateful that GTI and Leargas gave me this opportunity to work abroad and to have a chance to improve my skills and learn new things. Thank you very much.
My mentor was very nice to me, helping me overcome the language barrier with the girls in the office, and also talked to me about Ceuta from a business and personal perspective. Staff Personal was a very nice small office with very friendly and helpful people which helped me to create friendships and gain more knowledge about Ceuta, business in general, business in Spain, secretarial skills, and language.
It was the first time I was in a different country on my own and it made me feel brave and independent enough to handle the language barrier as well as testing how well I was prepared in relation to skills and knowledge. I am definitely going to continue to study Spanish in the future. This Erasmus+ Placement has helped me to not only learn a new language but also how to develop it. I also learned how to build up the confidence to believe that I would be fine in whatever country I will work in in the future if I decide to work somewhere else. It was an excellent opportunity and I was glad that I was able to experience it. I have also developed new communication skills.
This experience will definitely stand out on my CV and it is the opportunity for me to have a better chance to get a job that I will like. I can use the things I learned and put them into practice. I am very grateful that GTI and Leargas gave me this opportunity to work abroad and to have a chance to improve my skills and learn new things. Thank you very much.
I am really happy that I had been chosen for the Erasmus+ programme. This opportunity has really helped me to understand what it is like to work abroad, as well as learn about different cultures and language. We were on a three week working experience which in my opinion was long enough to settle in to the spanish culture, meet new people and enjoy the lovely scenery of the country.
When I arrived I was chosen to work in the office, however my mentor Pedro saw that without a good grasp of the spanish language it would be hard to find me a job, therefore he asked me if I wanted to join the personal in the Eroski Supermarkets. I gladly agreed and it was the best work experience I ever had. I met so many people who were welcoming me like their old friend. I bonded with everyone and even my co worker Marta, gave me a nickname - 'Son', because we really got close with each other during the stay in Ceuta. I wish this experience would have lasted for longer and I would have had more time with people over there, however nothing is lost, and hopefully next year. During the summer holidays I will return to Ceuta and work there for the summer because my mentor Pedro offered me a position.
For the next trip to Spain,I have set myself a goal that I will be fluent in Spanish so I can come back to Ceuta and meet my spanish friends once again and have a lovely time over there. When my language skills will improve I hope that Pedro will have some administration related job for me so I can improve my experience within the business administration sector. Overall, I have spent a lovely time with all the Erasmus students and teachers who came to Ceuta, I wish it would continue longer.
When I arrived I was chosen to work in the office, however my mentor Pedro saw that without a good grasp of the spanish language it would be hard to find me a job, therefore he asked me if I wanted to join the personal in the Eroski Supermarkets. I gladly agreed and it was the best work experience I ever had. I met so many people who were welcoming me like their old friend. I bonded with everyone and even my co worker Marta, gave me a nickname - 'Son', because we really got close with each other during the stay in Ceuta. I wish this experience would have lasted for longer and I would have had more time with people over there, however nothing is lost, and hopefully next year. During the summer holidays I will return to Ceuta and work there for the summer because my mentor Pedro offered me a position.
For the next trip to Spain,I have set myself a goal that I will be fluent in Spanish so I can come back to Ceuta and meet my spanish friends once again and have a lovely time over there. When my language skills will improve I hope that Pedro will have some administration related job for me so I can improve my experience within the business administration sector. Overall, I have spent a lovely time with all the Erasmus students and teachers who came to Ceuta, I wish it would continue longer.
Personally I think that the Erasmus+ placement was very beneficial to me as it took me out of my comfort zone, working in offices with new people and new languages. In the office I got to do many tasks such as create excel spreadsheets and compare figures off different sheets using formulas that my boss taught me. Twice I was left alone not for too long but in this time I had to try help out anyone that came to the desk asking about excursions. At first it was a bit of a challenge but after the first couple of people I got the hang of it. I was also put in charge of the English social media sites that this company has, such as their Facebook page and their car hiring blog. This is a great achievement for me as I can now say that I have been allowed access to a company’s site/blog/Facebook page to post regular updates. Overall I think that this experience has helped me develop better communication skills because the language barrier was difficult at the start but towards the end of the time here I was finally picking up a few words, better time management skills as we had to get up and get to the bus that would get us to work for 9 am. I also learned to see the importance in being responsible as I was left in charge of the social media sites. Seeing how they work in this office as a team where each person has their own job but none of them are afraid to ask the other for help. I thought this was a great atmosphere to work in and such a great experience to have been given.
I found the Erasmus+ work placement very beneficial as now I have this experience on my CV and overall it is a trip to remember. I learned a lot of new information from my work placement like how to use a blog and how to edit a website and I also learned more about Microsoft Excel. This trip did bring out more independence in me as I had to find my way around a strange new place with people who barely speak any English. I learned a lot of Spanish from working here which is amazing to say you speak a bit of another language. I have gained some new qualifications from the Erasmus+ placement as I know more about working in a company and how to update their social media sites. I loved experiencing a different culture as the people were very friendly and helpful as at times it was difficult with the language barrier. I have definitely gained more confidence in myself and I feel like this experience has thought me a lot about living without my parents. I loved touring the island and experiencing the culture as it is an amazing island. I did things here that I could not do in Ireland like paragliding which was one of the most amazing things I did. I really did enjoy this placement and what came with it and I have developed from it.
Conor Gibbons - Business Management
I have learned some valuable lessons in both my professional and personal life from undertaking this work experience in Ceuta, Spain.
Starting with my professional life, I have found these three weeks to be very rewarding. I am very grateful to the European Commission, GTI and everybody at the house of commerce in Ceuta for giving me such an experience. I am making steps in the right direction to be able to one day work in a successful business whether that be at home or abroad. Working abroad these past three weeks has opened my eyes to how it would be like in the future and I have enjoyed what I have seen and experienced. I'm very lucky to have been given the opportunity to enhance my CV even further. It will also be very beneficial to show on a CV that I have completed training abroad and that I am not afraid to travel. This can show the development in qualities such as confidence, outgoing personality and my ability to learn new skills. An employer will look at this experience in the future and having this experience on my cv could be the difference that helps me to get me over the line and to achieve employment in my chosen area. Being challenged in work and outside of work and to speak spanish has been both fun and challenging, I feel it is a good learning curve to have experienced.
In regards my personal life I have found out new things that I didn't already know about myself. I have found out that I can live independently which was something I really wanted to do. Over the past couple of years I have watched friends of mine go abroad to Australia, London and Canada and I always wondered could I handle going abroad on my own. I knew that I was in college so I could not leave but this Erasmus+ programme gave me the opportunity to try something that I have always wanted to do. I found that people no matter where you go will be kind and patient with you and make you feel comfortable. I have met some incredible people in Ceuta and have made friends that I will keep in touch in with even at home. I would just like to once again thank the European Commission, GTI and the House of Commerce in Ceuta for giving me such a great learning opportunity and for that I am truly grateful. I think this programme is very beneficial for students in a number of ways and long may it continue.
Starting with my professional life, I have found these three weeks to be very rewarding. I am very grateful to the European Commission, GTI and everybody at the house of commerce in Ceuta for giving me such an experience. I am making steps in the right direction to be able to one day work in a successful business whether that be at home or abroad. Working abroad these past three weeks has opened my eyes to how it would be like in the future and I have enjoyed what I have seen and experienced. I'm very lucky to have been given the opportunity to enhance my CV even further. It will also be very beneficial to show on a CV that I have completed training abroad and that I am not afraid to travel. This can show the development in qualities such as confidence, outgoing personality and my ability to learn new skills. An employer will look at this experience in the future and having this experience on my cv could be the difference that helps me to get me over the line and to achieve employment in my chosen area. Being challenged in work and outside of work and to speak spanish has been both fun and challenging, I feel it is a good learning curve to have experienced.
In regards my personal life I have found out new things that I didn't already know about myself. I have found out that I can live independently which was something I really wanted to do. Over the past couple of years I have watched friends of mine go abroad to Australia, London and Canada and I always wondered could I handle going abroad on my own. I knew that I was in college so I could not leave but this Erasmus+ programme gave me the opportunity to try something that I have always wanted to do. I found that people no matter where you go will be kind and patient with you and make you feel comfortable. I have met some incredible people in Ceuta and have made friends that I will keep in touch in with even at home. I would just like to once again thank the European Commission, GTI and the House of Commerce in Ceuta for giving me such a great learning opportunity and for that I am truly grateful. I think this programme is very beneficial for students in a number of ways and long may it continue.
Michelle Griffin - Office Administration
I felt overall I had a great Erasmus experience. My Work placement was in a Fas Office called Gip where I was front of house in reception. I had lots of duties so I had to be trained up for the first three days. I learned lots of new office skills. The language was a big barrier to start with as no one in my workplace spoke English. I downloaded Google Translate to my phone and this helped me through the barrier. All the girls in the office downloaded it to their computers so we could communicate then through this app.
We did a lot of travelling at weekends also. We went to Porto, Lisbon Combria, and lots more places. We experienced the culture and Portuguese people are very warm and friendly. The lady in the office even brought me round to her mums house for dinner. It was great to meet new people and I can now say that I have a lot more confidence about working in an office. I am still in contact with the girls from the office so I made new friends.
I recently went for an interview for clerical officer in the county council and they were very interested about my time working in an office in Portugal. As a result, they formed a panel and I made the panel, so I know first hand that the Erasmus experience enhanced my chances of this. My Portuguese overall improved. I really enjoyed my time in Portugal and the whole experience was very worthwhile.
We did a lot of travelling at weekends also. We went to Porto, Lisbon Combria, and lots more places. We experienced the culture and Portuguese people are very warm and friendly. The lady in the office even brought me round to her mums house for dinner. It was great to meet new people and I can now say that I have a lot more confidence about working in an office. I am still in contact with the girls from the office so I made new friends.
I recently went for an interview for clerical officer in the county council and they were very interested about my time working in an office in Portugal. As a result, they formed a panel and I made the panel, so I know first hand that the Erasmus experience enhanced my chances of this. My Portuguese overall improved. I really enjoyed my time in Portugal and the whole experience was very worthwhile.
Shauna Burke - Office Administration
I had a lovely time in Portugal with my other classmates. I enjoyed travelling around Portugal. In relation to work experience, the people were very welcoming and nice. They were very helpful and tried to speak as much English as they could as I tried to speak Portuguese. During my work experience, I found myself not doing much at all. I completed three tasks, which was translating Portuguese to English in which I had done the day it was given. I would have liked more work to do as the days felt very tedious. Overall the people were great and enjoyed them.
The helping supervisor was very nice but was not very helpful, she did not check up on us like she said she would. I don’t think she had any interest in communicating with us. The arranged accommodation was not what it was made out to be. We did stay one night and there were many complications with it and we did not like that the hostess would be checking up and even staying in the apartment with us. I feel we paid her too much for staying one night and it was not worth that price. Ten euro each would have been enough. The hotel was the better option and we were much happier and more comfortable there too.
All in all, Portugal was great for spending time with these lovely classmates and we had a great time together. I want to thank you for this wonderful opportunity. It has created many memories and given me an idea on deciding to work abroad. It has made me see the cultural differences and I learned some Portuguese too.
The helping supervisor was very nice but was not very helpful, she did not check up on us like she said she would. I don’t think she had any interest in communicating with us. The arranged accommodation was not what it was made out to be. We did stay one night and there were many complications with it and we did not like that the hostess would be checking up and even staying in the apartment with us. I feel we paid her too much for staying one night and it was not worth that price. Ten euro each would have been enough. The hotel was the better option and we were much happier and more comfortable there too.
All in all, Portugal was great for spending time with these lovely classmates and we had a great time together. I want to thank you for this wonderful opportunity. It has created many memories and given me an idea on deciding to work abroad. It has made me see the cultural differences and I learned some Portuguese too.
SInead Coleman - Office Administration
The work placement in Portugal was ok overall. I thought that the school in Portugal could have given me more work to do and sometimes I felt like I was just in the way. I know the language barrier was a lot to do with it but I felt that the school knew that I didn’t speak much Portuguese. I must say that I did enjoy my trip to Portugal. I had never been and enjoyed the culture and the people and the girls that I went with were great and we had a really good time.