Emer Leonard - Adv Cert in Fashion Buying, Styling & Visual Merchandising
During my Erasmus+ training period abroad I was working with a designer named Santi Catro, who was working towards creating costumes for the Carnival La Santa Cruz. I helped with the design process, from sticking and painting along with other tasks that needed to be done to add to the design. I learned how to use glue guns and the correct techniques when designing. I also picked up some basic words of Spanish as the team members had very poor english. The experience has made me more confident in interacting and working with new people and I felt the different culture was also a good learning experience.
Natallia Huchek - Fashion Design & Dress Making
On my placement in Tenerife I worked with a talented designer and his team to create outfits for the Tenerife Carnival. I was happy to be involved in this incredible world of beauty and proud to participate in all the events of Carnival de Tenerife. I gained a lot of new practical skills and knowledge in a field of Fashion Industry. I used materials that were new to me during the working process, such as feathers, plastic, beads, hot glue etc. I will definitely use these techniques in the future. It was a great experience and I am greatful for being selected for this experience.
Aoife Canavan - Fashion Design & Dress Making
During my time in Tenerife, I made the dresses for the carnival de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. I learned all that goes into theses events. I learned more about a culture and gained more patience by living with others. I really enjoyed my experience because I got to see and discover a new place that i have never been before, I immersed myself in the customs and culture of the people there. I also improved my budgeting and gained independence as I have never been abroad on my own before.good elements were having mornings off to explore the city and island. i enjoyed living in the city of Santa Cruz as everyone is very friendly and i felt very safe in the city. I also became closer friends with someone who came with me. I didn't experience too many bad elements, I would say that we were given much information about all the flight details and such until a week before we left, I would have preferred to have this information sooner , so I could have told my employer sooner. Also I have a lot of work/projects to do now that I am home.The most important experiences for me were learning to take care of myself , in areas such as punctuality, keeping the apartment clean, budgeting my money for food and transport. I gained confidence in my abilities, to take care of myself and live with others. I got to explore somewhere that is completely different from home. I wished I did more cultural experiences while I was there.
Lisa Cox - Fashion Design & Dress Making
My time in Tenerife allowed me to really enjoyed meeting new people and the work I was doing. I also enjoyed the culture of the Spanish Island life. I liked the availability of public transport. I have developed a new confidence in myself regarding my course. I learnt new organisational skills regarding money. I bonded more with a girl from my group and now consider her a close friend. The Erasmus placement will help me in my field of study when applying for work not only at home but abroad. I also will receive multi-pal certificates outlining the work i did. I have also gained new contacts in participating in the Erasmus program.
Maria Morley - Adv Cert in Fashion Buying, Styling & Visual Merchandising
From my experience in Tenerife I took away the following: Immersing myself into different cultures, learning new language, seeing the work that the designers put into these creations, meeting new people, learning new skills, building strong friendships with other Erasmus students. In terms of the skills that I developed: Working with new materials, Interpersonal skills, Working as a team, learning new language. The experience has giving me a clear career path direction. I have built strong connections through networking in Tenerife which will help me going forward. The certificates I have gained will enhance my CV .
Esther Ikegwuruka - Fashion Design & Dress Making
I enjoyed working with people from different countries and backgrounds. I learnt new and different ways of working and problem solving. I made new friends in my line of profession and i am looking forward to visiting them in the the nearest future.
Yaqub Khalid - Adv Cert in Fashion Buying, Styling & Visual Merchandising
I really enjoyed the Erasmus experience. I went over not knowing what to expect, and I didn't speak a word of french so I was unsure what to think. Grenoble was amazing place to be based. Its a city in the Alps so the scenery around the place was breathtaking. I was put at ease as soon as I met the staff at the place I was working, they were all very friendly and some of which I became very good friends with. I got to experience so many new things and travel to many new places which was great, as i'm a big fan of trying new things and seeing different places. I've always wanted to work and live abroad in the future, so getting the opportunity to do so earlier than expected was great. It's definitely made me realise thats what I want to do, so its given me the push to go on and do that in the future. To sum it up simply, it has been a fantastic experience which i'd recommend anyone to jump at if given the chance.
Aoife Donna - Adv Cert in Fashion Buying, Styling & Visual Merchandising
This Erasmus was one of the best opportunities that I have ever had. The thing that I enjoyed most during my placement in Voodoo Boutique was experiencing the interaction between the staff, seeing them work in harmony made me realise how important team work is to the success of a business. As well as between themselves their interaction with customers was outstanding. I was so impressed with how they treated each customer whether they be new or existing. It was clear to me that Voodoo hold a loyal customer base as a result of this. Straight away Corinne and Isabelle made me feel comfortable, constantly keeping me updated with what they were doing and always kept me involved. I loved how they instantly trusted me with dressing the front window displays as well as styling the the mannequins in-store.
Throughout the placement I strongly feel like I developed/ enhanced communication skills ie. my French speaking skills, as towards the end I was confident in approaching the customers while offering them help in any way possible. This was partly down to Corinne as she kept a little diary in the office of translations that we came across throughout the days. I feel like my independence as a person has also improved as I was well capable of travelling alone to and from my work place as well as being confident in approaching French people if I needed any help throughout my travels. My time keeping skills have massively improved as I was always on time for work and also with coming back from lunch. I made sure to plan a sufficient route to my work place, while also timing it before I started my first day. As a result of enhancing the above skills I hope that they will help me in the future when applying for my dream job
This Erasmus has helped me realise what I want for my future. It has opened my eyes as to how much hard work and dedication actually goes into this profession for it to be successful. I now have a clear understanding in what I need to do in order to preform my best while in this industry.
Throughout the placement I strongly feel like I developed/ enhanced communication skills ie. my French speaking skills, as towards the end I was confident in approaching the customers while offering them help in any way possible. This was partly down to Corinne as she kept a little diary in the office of translations that we came across throughout the days. I feel like my independence as a person has also improved as I was well capable of travelling alone to and from my work place as well as being confident in approaching French people if I needed any help throughout my travels. My time keeping skills have massively improved as I was always on time for work and also with coming back from lunch. I made sure to plan a sufficient route to my work place, while also timing it before I started my first day. As a result of enhancing the above skills I hope that they will help me in the future when applying for my dream job
This Erasmus has helped me realise what I want for my future. It has opened my eyes as to how much hard work and dedication actually goes into this profession for it to be successful. I now have a clear understanding in what I need to do in order to preform my best while in this industry.
Carrie Burns - Adv Cert in Fashion Buying, Styling & Visual Merchandising
The aspect of my placement I enjoyed most was meeting new people from different cultural backgrounds every day whether that be co workers or customers or even those outside the workplace. It was interesting to see how they differed from people I previously met and the Irish culture I was accustomed to. I have developed my fashion retail skills as I have previously worked in retail but not in the fashion sector. It was interesting to learn about the process of sales and targets and also the importance of communicating with the client in conjunction with this. I personally believe I improved my confidence in relation to selling a product. This Erasmus experience will help me in relation to any future work as I feel it has helped me to not only gain experience in the retail sector but also taught be skills which I can bring forward with me. The most significant factor being the ability to adapt myself to a different culture and work environment. This will certainly benefit me in terms of my future plans of working abroad.
Jennifer Moran - Fashion Styling & Media Make-up
What I enjoyed most about my placement was how friendly my employees were even though there was a language barrier they made a good effort to chat to me an visa versa, they also gave me a lot of leeway as when it came to doing in-store displays and other tasks they told me to do whatever I wanted and use my imagination. I've definitely improved my independence skills a hundred percent as it was the fist time for me living on my own having to look after myself as in college I was in digs. Also I feel my confidence has developed too as day in day out I was dealing with many new faces who mostly had no English and also when it came to travelings round it was so important to have confidence in asking people for help or directions. From this experience i think it will definitely help me in employment areas but also it has me thinking about furthering my education in retail.