Students in London – Find your next home in London
Students in London – Find your next home in London
When students move to London, we understand that finding a safe and comfortable place to live is one of the most important things. Our dedicated accommodation team is always on hand to help. So, today, we will get to know Erik, our lovely Student Service and Accommodation Officer.
Please introduce yourself:
My name is Erik, I am from Hungary and I came to London, like… 2 years ago.
What did you do in London before you came to Rose of York?
I was working as a concierge, in quite a big office.
Why did you choose to come to Rose of York?
Well, our team is really amazing, and I think that is the most important aspect for me. As my colleagues have previously mentioned, the people that you work with are very important. That is why I enjoy working here. The school itself is fantastic as well. It’s good to see other people improving their skills. On top of this, it is exciting to meet people from the other side of the world. I’m learning something new every day!
What exactly is your job title and what does it include?
I work as a Student Services and Accommodation officer. It’s quite a mouthful and it keeps me busy. First of all, Student Services is helping students with any enquiries they might have, and it includes basic administration in the office.Accommodation officer is everything accommodation related like finding students a place to live while they are here in London, making sure that they are happy where they are and all the necessary paperwork that it involves.
Seems like you’ve got quite a lot on your plate, what does your average day entail?
Haha, I’m constantly switching between these two. Most of the day I focus on student administration, and when I need to, I keep myself busy with accommodation to make sure everything is in order.
So how does the accommodation work?
When I receive an enquiry, I am trying to get more information about the students, to see what they are looking for. Once I have it, I am approaching some of either homestay families or our partners to see what is available. Once I see that a potential family or residence would be suitable for the students we are sending them the offer. It’s a bit time consuming but we want our students happy.
You mentioned homestay and residence so what exactly is the difference between them?
Homestay is where a student is living, basically, with a family in a house or flat. It’s a great way to practice the English language outside of the classroom and to get a better image of the British culture. The homestay families will take a student just as a member of their own family.
Residence is on the other side, a room or studio where the students live by themselves more individually and independently. Usually there are many other student’s living, either international or from local universities. You can meet some nice people there.Both options are very good for any international students.
With our accommodation, how do you make sure our standards are being maintained?
Well first of all, we work with numerous families directly so when get to know them personally. When someone applies to be a host, we go to their home and meet the family so we can make sure that they and their home are suitable for our students. During busy times or if our families are not available, we use different accommodation providers. As we are a British Council accredited establishment we only work with partners that meet certain requirements, so it makes our job a bit easier.
All of our accommodation is personally inspected by either us or by our providers.
What are your future plans?
Wow that’s a bit difficult question! Only the future will tell but I love my job and London is an amazing city to be in. I hope I will contribute a lot towards Rose of York!