Our first day at work

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Day 3 in Tubingen - after a weekend of settling in and exploring this beautiful city, today we began our research. After breakfast in the hotel the group ventured into the city to meet Mr. Schoelke (Tubingen's Mayor for Construction). Upon arrival with Stephan, Mr. Schoelke took us onto the roof of the 'blue tower' to show us an ariel view of the city and point us towards some of the sites of Tuebingen.

We discussed his role in the development of the projects in the city and we also discussed our roles in our specific teams at DCC. We had a lengthy discussion about the difference in apprenticeships in England compared to the structure in Germany. After our meeting we walked from the blue tower to the market square and to the city hall where all of the council meetings take place. The city hall is a very old building however the inside has recently been refurbished to give a modern look inside which contrasts the untouched outside. When inside we were given a presentation by Stephan about the administration of the city and the council. We were given information about the political parties in the city and how the Green Party are currently in power in Tuebingen. Also we were presented with information about the budget of the council and how the money is spent by the mayor.

We were then treated to a meal in a restaurant opposite to the City hall by Stephan which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

In the afternoon we met with a city planner to discuss past, present and future schemes and the differences between planning major projects in Germany compared to in England. We were shown drawings of new projects and were told about plans for the future of development of the city.

Everyone seems to have settled in and our German is improving slightly (even if we can only order a beer). We have got to grips with the city and can now navigate round. We look forward to meeting the apprentices of tubingen tomorrow.

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Comments

[Greg Farn]

Great stuff
Any information on how apprenticeships are ran in Germany, and how they actually work in practice, would be great folks.