Erasmus+ Tramore Road Campus

Job Shadowing

Tramore Road Campus promotes the continued professional development of our staff through opportunities provided by the EU Erasmus+ programme. These include Job Shadowing possibilities for our staff in similar educational settings in Europe. We also welcome teachers from other colleges around Europe to Job Shadow at our campus as part of our Erasmus+ plan to develop networks with European partners.

Science teacher Sara Fernández Pastor from Spain joined our campus for job shadowing experience

"My name is Sara Fernández Pastor and I am a Vocational Education teacher in the healthcare field at the IES Leonardo da Vinci college in Alicante, Spain. Thanks to a training program organized by the Ministry of Education in Spain and the kindness of the teachers at Tramore Road Campus I have been able to enjoy, learn, and observe the differences between our educational systems. I am leaving happy, knowing that we have built the foundations for future collaborations, and taking with me in my heart a touch of this wonderful country"

Sara

Principal Thomas Brunner and colleagues from Friedrich-Hecker-Schule, Sinsheim, Germany visit Tramore Road Campus.

The teachers visited our campus as part of an Erasmus+ networking opportunity for both our colleges. Furniture Design course director Fergus Somers hosted some teachers who engaged in job shadowing at our Furniture Department. The teachers were interested to learn first hand the English terminology used in the daily delivery of classes in the Furniture Design Dept. These teachers teach English to their carpentry students in Sinsheim. They explained that this job shadowing experience was very helpful to record the correct terms for machinery, tools and techniques so that they can incorporate this learning into their classes on return to Germany.

The group had a discussion on further education and how it fits into the the Irish educational system. We also had an opportunity to discuss the development of possible student exchanges and we look forward to developing projects with Friedrich-Hecker-Schule into the future.

Detlef Teufel is a teacher working in Gewerbeschule Schopfheim, in Baden Württemburg, Southern Germany and we were delighted to host Detlef at our Furniture and Carpentry Department in Tramore Road Campus for a week's Job Shadowing.

From Monday the 17th of April to Friday the 21st of April I was allowed to participate in the learning and teaching of the students and teachers at CETB Tramore Road Campus. Most of the time I was with the joinery, carpentry and furniture design students. I had also two hours of job shadowing in the computer lessons.

It was a great experience for me. The way, the teachers and students dealt with each other was relaxed and with mutual respect. The students were allowed to develop their own project and were professionally supported by the staff in case they faced a problem or they had questions. Otherwise they had a great freedom to go their own track. This meant more responsibility but also more involvement in their personal workpiece and this provided a steep learning curve for them.

It was new to me, that so many different subjects were taught on the same campus and the diversity of people - young and sometimes for me unexpectedly older students on the way into their second or third career was interesting. From a bystander`s view it seemed efficient and straight forward.

All the teachers welcomed me without any problem and I could ask anybody for support and help and was allowed to enter any lesson I was interested in. The teachers showed me some places for possible work experience placements in Cork for our students and also entertained me in the evenings and spent their precious time with me.

Thank you for the wonderful days and we look forward to seeing you soon in Germany.

Detlef Teufel

Ceramics teacher Aisling Roche from Tramore Road Campus spent a week job shadowing in a ceramic's college in Madrid as part of our Erasmus+ programme

I was fortunate to visit Escuela de Arte Francisco Alcantára. Ceramica further education college dedicated to the teaching of Ceramics in Madrid from November 20th- 24th 2023 inclusive. It is an amazing college with a strong emphasis on skills development. There were 5 distinctive Ceramic Courses with a first and second year option. These were; Moulds and Die Casting, Ceramic Coatings, Artistic Ceramics, Pottery and Decoration.

The college was set in a beautiful location and there was an ambience of calm and learning. All of the students were really engaged with their process and very happy to be working in such a positive environment, there was a strong emphasis on technical skills. The staff and students were very accommodating and I was welcome in all classes. In fact I gave a talk to the whole college on the last day of my stay ( I had a translator).

Madrid was an amazing place to visit, culturally it had an enormous amount on offer. The architecture alone is astonishing. As the school started at eight every morning and classes were mostly finished by two in the afternoon I managed to visit a lot of galleries and museums.

I feel the connection that was made with the college will bode well for further development by students and staff. There was much to be learnt from observing a different approach, and certainly some of the staff and students at the college are interested in visiting us here in Cork

Aisling Roche