Students Visit Malta & Poland with Turing Scheme

A group of BTEC learners from Solihull Sixth Form College have spent three weeks overseas undertaking work experience, thanks to a government scheme.

One group of students visited Poland and another went to Malta as part of the Turing Scheme, which is the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. The BTEC Level 3 courses that the College offers require learners to undertake work placements in both the first and second year of study. By taking advantage of the Turing Scheme, funding was awarded to enable learners to do one of these placements overseas.

Young people from across our BTEC provision went on the trip, including those studying Applied Science, Sport and Health & Social Care, who went to Poland, while those on the Business and IT courses went to Malta. Each student had a different work placement, with the businesses they were working for including water sports, school camps, farms, IT services, science labs, nurseries, care homes, restaurants and retail.

Vice Principal at the College Janice Hamilton commented:

"The Turing Scheme is a fantastic opportunity for our young people, because it offers not only valuable experience in the workplace, but also the chance to travel abroad and experience a different culture. It is fully funded and offered 37 students from our College the chance to take part. All the learners who travelled have learned a lot from their three weeks away and have developed both their confidence and their employability skills."

As well as working up to 40 hours per week, learners also had some free time to explore the countries they were in, taking in sights in Wroclaw in Poland and in Valletta in Malta.

8 July 2025