Two GST apprentices went on a journey…

Two GST apprentices went on a journey to Northern Ireland and had a lot to talk about when they came home!

The IFA – International Young Workers Exchange organisation offers apprentices in Austria the opportunity to gain experience in other countries and companies. In June 2025, two motivated young apprentices from our team took up this offer and traveled to Belfast in Northern Ireland for 5 weeks.

I interviewed my colleagues David and Tobias about their experiences and received the following answers:

>> How was the trip, did everything go well? <<
Tobias & David: “Yes, we were very well looked after by the organization. The flight went from Vienna via Munich to Dublin, from there we took the Air Chuck bus to Belfast. A cab then took us directly to our accommodation. We were a total of 14 apprentices who took part in the program in Belfast. A guide from the IFA stayed on site for a week and organized everything for us. After this week, we had everything on track and managed very well for ourselves. The accommodation took some getting used to in terms of location and facilities. We were accommodated in a student quarter and the level of comfort was manageable. For approximatly a month, however, that was fine.”

>> You had English lessons in the first week. After your trip to Ireland, you can probably confirm that not all English is the same <<
T & D: “The primary language for us was “British English”, instead of Irish English, which needs more getting used to for foreigners. We were first graded according to our language skills and, based on this, divided into groups. The lessons were interdisciplinary, i.e. apprentices from different subject areas were divided into groups according to level. The lessons were from 9.00-13.00 and the lecturers were very easy for us to understand.”

>> That sounds good! Whas was on the agenda for the afternoon programm? <<
T & D: “We had the opportunity to see all the sights. In the evening we went to the pub or cooked for ourselves. All in all, we were able to get to know this different culture and way of life and felt very comfortable.”

>> In the second week it was time to get to work, how was that for your? <<
T & D: “That was awesome! We were at a company called “Datum-Design: aerospace / automotive tool engineering” and were actually allowed to work on a lathe and a CNC-controlled milling machine. Our colleagues were very nice and one time we even got a day off to go on an excursion. Overall, this was a really great place to work for.”

>> What else did you like? <<
T & D: “The nature was impressive! We took lots of photos.”

>> What did you take with you from this experience for your personal development? <<
Tobias: “I´ve learned for myself, that in the future I will approach new situations with an more open mind.”
David: “Although the internship was great, I´m happy to be home again and I am more aware of the things that weren’t available in Ireland. I do miss the longer opening hours in the supermarkets now, but I’m still happy to be living in Austria.”