Danish student takes home fond memories of Wolverhampton
Released: 17 December 2007
A Danish student who has spent three months working at Wolverhampton City Council has returned home with fond memories of his time in the West Midlands.
Nicholas Frederiksen, who is 23 and lives in Næstved - around 50 miles south west of the capital Copenhagen, came to the UK as part of his studies.
He joined the adults and community directorate at the city council in early September, working as part of the business management team based at the civic centre. Much of his time has been spent working on the LIFT project which will see six new health and social care facilities built in the city in the next few years.
Nicholas, who finishes his studies in August, said his learning has been very much hands on.
He said: “In England, you study in college then get a job in the workplace, in Denmark, we study while we are in the workplace.
“On this course, I will only spend four months over two years in college, the rest of the time I have been working at Næstved Council and also here.
“It has been a very good experience. It is hard to compare the two councils because councils in Denmark are very rich – they get such a lot of money from taxpayers.
“Næstved Council employs 8,000 people and serves a population of 80,000 – that’s one employee for every 10 people. But we pay 50% tax back home, you pay 20% here, and I think the English people have got to be realistic about what they can demand from their council.”
Nicholas returned home on Friday and Heather Mytton-Sanneh, head of business management, said: “Nicholas has been a great help to the team. He settled in really quickly and has been very focussed on his work.
“We in business management have not been able to pick up much Danish but Nicholas’ English language skills have noticeably improved. We will miss him and his quick wit.”
Nicholas added: “I have learned a lot about England in my time in Wolverhampton and I will take a lot of experience back with me. My mother always said you will never return from another country empty handed, and she’s right.”
Issued by the press office.