"International cooperation is an integral part of Hordaland County Council’s (HCC) strategy for regional development. Erasmus+ VET Mobility is one of the tools HCC make use of to meet challenges linked to restructuring, availability of qualified workers and provision of targeted professional training, as well as gaining a more knowledge-based workforce and business/industry. Access to, and availability of knowledge and an adequate supply of qualified labour is a prerequisite for economic development and requires strategic competency-based policies. With its basis in the education system, the purpose of HCC's ""Regional Plan for Expertise and Labour"" (2017) is to provide the labour market and economy with required qualified and skilled labour. Attention is given to the correlation between the labour market and education and training, and cooperation between the two to align skills with labour market needs. The Department of Education and Training’s ""Plan for Competence Development 2016-2020"" is a steering document, which aims at ensuring competence building within upper secondary education. Its objective is to systematically renew and expand the professional and pedagogical competence and knowledge among teachers linking it to the pupils’ and apprentices’ education and training. Both plans contribute to continuous quality development. Targeted and systematic focus on exchange and transfer of knowledge, as well as competence development will ensure that Hordaland has the right skills and competences for the future. The mobility projects in this application emphasise systematic work and quality (mobilisation, implementation, follow-up, evaluation, mapping and the dissemination of good results). Attitudes, behaviour and intercultural understanding are key elements in reaching the goal of making the participants global citizens with sound knowledge of Europe and the world. As internationalisation should be an integrated part of education and training and contribute to the overall quality of education, we work continuously to mobilise schools and training offices to participate in mobility projects. Quality mobility stays give pupils and apprentices the opportunity to acquire further professional knowledge, improve language skills, and create positive attitudes. Further, the mobility stays contribute to the development of transversal skills that will be important in a in a long-term competence development perspective. In this application, we have seen a tendency that companies wish to send their apprentices abroad to cover parts of the curricula that is difficult to complete at home. This project give great importance to the development of cross-sectoral group staff mobilities aiming at strengthening innovative international cooperation across different sectors, fields and levels. It is important to have close links between businesses, the educational sector, and regional/local administration to increase competence and innovation across sectors. Educational provision should be in line with regional needs and restructuring to green workplaces. This year, HCC has especially targeted tertiary VET schools for participation in the project. These projects will address themes such as developing quality tertiary VET, competence requirements for Ocean Space Technology, recent approval and start-up of a study programme about local food culture at Hjeltnes, and the development of a new study programme for alternative energy in collaboration with NCE Maritime Cleantech. These staff mobilities also provide opportunities to create a European network for potential future mobilities of tertiary VET students. HCC is applying for 47 mobility projects, which count 177 pupils and 17 apprentices from 13 different secondary VET schools and 7 training offices, and 64 accompanying persons. HCC is also applying for 15 mobility projects, which count 134 staff from various VET institutions, companies, municipalities, industry organisations and other regional development actors. The disciplines represented in this application include health care/social work, restaurant/hotel business, industrial technology, hairdressing, electricity/electronics, landscaping, and office administration. Mobility projects involving cooperation for increased quality of education/training have themes such as aggregate management, welfare technology and dementia care, solid wood, agro-gastronomy, tourism and destination development, recruitment, restructuring, microplastics and strengthening links between VET and the industry. As a school owner, HCC is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the pupils participating in the mobility projects. The majority of the pupils are under the age of 18, and it is important that they be accompanied while traveling to and from the host countries. The accompanying persons will assist the pupils while traveling and make sure the pupils settle in at their place of accommodation and work place."