Twelve Accrington & Rossendale College students set for Germany trip

Twelve painting and decorating students from Accrington & Rossendale College will be heading off to Bocholt to take part in an exchange which will see them work for German employers for three weeks in May and live with local families who have agreed to host the students.

Head of the painting and decorating section, Phil Burgess explained: “Our painting and decorating students have a great reputation and have shown how good they are on a national scale by the sheer number of awards they have won over the last couple of years, but there is so much you can learn from visiting a new country and experiencing a different culture.

“One of the things we try and teach on our construction courses is that you never finish learning. In fact we are all currently learning the German language in our lunch times. Painting and decorating is such a big, diverse area, that you continuously need to update your skills, keep on top of the latest technology in application methods, and constantly try to improve.

"During this trip they will experience a variety of decorating methods with employers on the continent, such as Venetian plastering, Airless spraying, decorative effects and Hanging wide width wall coverings.”

The 12 specially selected students were chosen from all level 1, 2 & 3 painting and decorating diploma groups; they have been closely monitored & assessed since last September. The team has had to gauge the learners every move to ensure they are well equipped, reliable and can prove to be a success overseas.

The students will have to make their own way to work and then experience the German methods of work and culture. There will be a big emphasis put on the students experiencing the German culture, with visits to Henkel in Dusseldorf, a trip to Köln and a variety of master classes in Bocholt College.

The exchange will be funded by the Leonardo Programme. The fund’s mobility initiatives are designed to enable people to train in another country and are part of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning programme which aims to build a skilled workforce.