Three weeks in Dublin - my "RYZE" to the Emerald Isle

Some formalities before the start

It all started in the summer of 2024 with an information sheet about internships abroad that I received from a teacher at my vocational school (BBS 3 Mainz). "Cool," I thought to myself, "this is a great opportunity to improve my English and see more of the world!"

But before the internship could start, I (of course) had to complete a few formalities. I asked the teacher for more information by email, took part in an information evening via Teams and registered with the host organisation and the Erasmus+ language programme. But that wasn't all - I also had to submit a letter of motivation (in German and English), a personal profile, various data protection forms and so-called "Learning Agreements". Phew.

Three weeks before the start of the trip, Derrycourt Cleaning Specialists - a commercial cleaning company from Dublin where I was to complete my internship - invited me to an interview. As this was of course also in English, I was quite nervous, but ultimately successful!

It took a total of around seven months before my adventure could finally begin.

My tasks at Derrycourt

Two days after my arrival, I was off and running. I travelled on the Green Line (one of Dublin's two tram lines) to Derrycourt in the north of the city. As soon as I registered, I introduced myself to the eight-strong HR team. Among them were Neetusha and Madalina, who provided me with tasks and supported me with questions over the following weeks.

My tasks included, among other things

• handing out uniforms to new employees,
• inserting various content (e.g. profile pictures) into UKG - a system for HR, payroll and workforce management - and the corresponding documentation in Excel spreadsheets,
• uploading and assigning certificates to the respective employees and
• creating "reference letters", i.e. letters of recommendation for former employees.

Even though I understood and completed these tasks relatively quickly, it was an exciting experience to work in a completely different environment - and an additional challenge due to the language barrier!