Work Placements Abroad
Dare to do something new! Work Placement Abroad - here I come!
The HdBA Work Placement Abroad
Thinking outside the box, getting to know other people, other cultures, other ways of thinking and working, improving foreign languages, and personal reflection: These all sound like good reasons to do a work placement abroad!
The University of Applied Labour Studies (HdBA) actively supports its students in their desire to gain practical experience abroad. For this reason, placements in other countries are an integral part of their studies. Placements serve to gain knowledge of the structures and instruments of labour market policies in other countries, to further develop personal and professional skills and to integrate this knowledge and experience into students' degree programme and later into their professional lives.
About half of the students in all years at the HdBA decides on a placement abroad. Alongside the knowledge they gain, the students also improve their self-confidence, tolerance, intercultural competencies and flexibility during their time abroad. Such skills are of great importance, especially for the National Employment Agency and its wide range of clients and tasks.
New worlds open up right next door, as cultural differences are never far away. However, other countries are also open to students with the corresponding language skills (generally, B2).
The goal is for students to be successful in finding new work experience placements by themselves.
Placements abroad can be state employment agencies or private agencies involved in the fields of labour administration, placement, counselling and integration. In addition, students can also gain valuable experience in the fields of human resources, controlling or marketing in companies as well as social institutions which are active in the labour market, or in the International Office/Career Centre of foreign universities.
The International Office collaborates with partner institutions in different countries. These institutions offer - depending on capacity - placements which are advertised on Ilias through the International Office. In such cases, students can apply through the International Office.
The following information sheet provides a brief overview of the requirements to be fulfilled by the institution offering the placement, as well as what the placement could possibly entail: Information sheet Work Placements Abroad
Further relevant information for students can be found on the learning platform ILIAS.
Adventures...
... within Europe
"My personal development benefited from my practical semester abroad. Travelling alone and conversing in English helped me become a more confident person in front of other people. I was able to improve my Engish skills in that time too. I could easily compare the Croatian and German labour administration through speaking to Croatian colleagues. I am now aware of the challenges and issues faced by other labour markets, which can help me in my work with Croatian immigrants in the future."
My practical semester had great professional benefits because I had new insights into the social system in another country, and could compare it with that of Germany. This showed which areas are good in Germany and where there is need for improvement. For example, Estonia is much further ahead in terms of digitalisation. Alongside the new knowledge I gained, I could further develop my personality during this time by talking to new people every day and experiencing new things."
"I would highly recommend this practical semester in terms of its relation to our studies as well as how it is connected with daily working life at the National Employment Agency. I had the chance to see the bigger picture and get to know new perspectives with regard to integration and orientation. A practical semester abroad also, of course, benefits you on a personal level. In this short space of time, we were able to learn how to grow with new challenges and develop new solutions and strategies ourselves."
"Profited greatly, both professionally and personally. I gained experience at all levels of labour administration and got to know many of their tasks, which were completely new to me, for example the work at head office or collaboration at European level."
"I gained solid insights into the Spanish labour market in my practical semester, especially in how it works for the young people of Spain. Youth unemployment is a big issue in Spain, with it being so high, and there are many measures in place to attempt to reduce the figures. For myself as well as the BA, I can integrate my experience into my future profession as a job counsellor, as I was responsible for presentations on the topics of CVs and preparing for job interviews and got to know this field extensively. On top of that, I can understand the goals and desires of the young adults as well as their worries and fears much better now than before, and I would like to try to reduce these fears through my work."
"Initially, I had a comprehensive insight into the Irish labour market, which was very helpful to understand how everything is related. I was able to filter out common practices and differences and take home aspects which can help me in my studies as well as my later professional life. [...] By communicating with people in another language, I was not only able to improve my English but also my manner and the impression I made on others. The preparation and holding of a presentation further strengthened these skills."
... and outside of Europe
"I personally gained a great deal of experience in a foreign culture and learned that you have to be open to this if you want to survive. On a professional level, I found the attitude of the employees at the Mongolian Ministry of Labour interesting as they were much more focused on helping people rather than trying to control them."