In February 2019 we hosted a group of 15 students from Lębork in Poland. Students had a great opportunity to learn about how to work in 5 different sectors: they worked as administratives, cooks, housekeepers, shop assistants and lab technicians. Depending on the field, they had different tasks. Those working in the sector of administration were mainly:

– controlling payments
– updating payments, schedules, class shifts, recoveries of the classes
– balancing the cash register of the school
– controlling and preparing material that will be used for classes
– analysing prices and purchasing office supplies
– providing appropriate organization of invoices
– maintaining and updating records management database systems

Students working as cooks had to:

– learnin about typical Spanish cuisine and local specialties, ex. tortilla de patatas
– serve meals to clients
– wash and drying kitchen pots/ utensils and ensure their proper storage
– weigh, measure and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using
various kitchen utensils and equipment
– carry out a process of vacuum packaging
– prepare seafood salads and other local products
– arrange the working space in the kitchen
– prepare the ingredients for consumption or cook
– wash, peel, cut and peel fruit and vegetables as well as cut meat, prepare
seafood
– check the quality of food by tasting it or using appropriate kitchen utensils

As housekeeper, they were:

– checking if the rooms have been vacated before cleaning
– making beds daily and changing bed linen
– vacuum cleaning carpets, floors, and upholstery
– cleaning bathrooms and supplying fresh towels and toiletries
– checking and restocking tea, coffee, sugar, milk and mini bar supplies
– making sure that televisions, radios, lights and air conditioning equipment are working
– reporting to a supervisor when articles are left behind by guests, if there is any damage in the
rooms or if any items appear to have been stolen

The training as shop assistant required to:

– deal with customer service
– support the sales process
– handle invoices, receipts and payments
– receive deliveries and stock management
– take care of the order in the store: unpacking goods, stocking shelves, arranging displays
– use computer programs to perform support tasks

Finally, lab technicians were:

– getting to know the laboratory equipment, laboratory materials, and safety procedures
– preparing solutions according to the recommendations of the tutor
– sampling and analysis of samples
– prepare the equipment and keep it in order
– physicochemical tests
– determination of the acidity of the substance
– water hardness analysis
– eliminating laboratory waste and sterilizing of materials and machines
– describing and analysing the results of experiments

Apart from the work placement, they had the opportunity to enjoy many cultural activities such as professional flamenco show and tapas night as well as to discover Malaga and Sevilla both culturally and historically. They could also learn more about Spanish language and culture thanks to a dynamic spanish course carried out by our team.