"When the European Trainer Teacher Tandem project (ETT Tandem) was set up in 2014, Europe was undergoing a deep financial crisis which had a devastating impact on youth unemployment, especially in Greece, Spain and Italy amongst other countries. Germany, on the other hand, managed the crisis quite well and did not suffer higher unemployment among the youth. As a consequence, the interest in the German dual training system massively increased in Europe. It was this situation that brought about the idea of a tandem for teachers and trainers of different European vocational education systems. Partners of the European InnMain Network developed the idea to learn from each other through allowing the opportunity to participate in typical learning environments of the relevant partner organisations in order to improve the teachers' and trainers' professional, pedagogical and personal knowledge and skills. From its early beginnings, the idea to ""think out of the box"" and gain experience from European partners has been a fundament of the European Union as well as the Erasmus+ programme whose validity remains unchanged until today's date. Some of the ETT Tandem partners, who had been organising exchange programmes for their students over a longer time, came up with the idea not only to exchange students, but give their professional staff equal opportunity to enjoy international teaching and learning experiences. Hence, the objective of the ETT Tandem project was to develop a guideline for such Trainer Teacher Tandems among European partners in vocational education, the so-called ""ETT Tandem Model"". The model allows collaborative learning, exchange and transfer of good practice experiences made by trainers and teachers in a real training environment such as vocational schools or training centres (or by e.g. companies, chambers, schools) with focus on the practical parts of the vocational education and training.Partners from six European countries were actively involved in the ETT Tandem project. These included: BFI OOE - BFI-Institute for Vocational Advancement, an Upper Austrian vocational training institution. BFI Upper Austria provides vocational education and training in a wide context of areas. Part of its educational activities focuses on training schemes aimed at the (re-)integration of unemployed persons or persons disadvantaged in the labour market. Those pertinent educational and occupational schemes are designed and organised in close co-operation with the Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) and companies. The vocational school Istituto Tecnico “Attilio Deffenu” of Olbia in Italy which provides research and experimentation in education, aiming at innovative teaching and methodology. The Οργανισμού Απασχόλησης Εργατικού Δυναμικού (ΟΑΕΔ) or Organismou Apascholisis Ergatikou Dynamikou (OAED), also known as the Manpower Employment Organization of Greece, is a public authority that handles vocational training, job search assistance, labour and policy development, as well as unemployment and maternity benefits. Teknisk Erhvervsskole Center (TEC) is a large vocational college, situated on 5 campuses in Greater Copenhagen, attending 25,000 students during a year. TEC has a history of more than 135 years – the institution as it looks today is a dynamic merger of six institutions, the first merger starting out in 1999. TEC has a staff of 750 and offers around 25 different VET programmes and 3 Higher Technical Examination Programmes and several Adult Vocational Programmes. XABEC is a vocational training centre operating since 2008 and is promoted by the EIFOR Foundation of the Region of Valencia. The EIFOR Foundation of the Region of Valencia aims at promoting, fostering and supporting social, welfare, cultural, research and development initiatives. The Central Agency for Continuing Vocational Education and Training in the Skilled Crafts (ZWH e. V.) is a service provider for all educational institutions in the skilled crafts sector and operates nationwide. It is supported by the 53 chambers of skilled crafts, the regional associations and the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH).In the course of the European Trainer Teacher Tandem pilot project, six transnational meetings took place in six different countries, five times with simultaneous tandem activities. The meetings took place at the partner organisations' places. The places chosen were very diverse ranging from vocational schools with only small practical workshops to public-private partnership training centres and work-based learning in companies. This variety had a deep impact on the development of the ETT Tandem Model. It proved that the Model has to be an open, flexible and inspiring model rather than a limiting one. It may provide recommendations, advice and ideas while simultaneously providing space for adjusting and widening the idea of European Trainer Teacher Tandems in relation to the local conditions and environment."

The adoption of energy efficiency measures for buildings has created a strong demand for digital and green skills for smart metering and home automation technologies. Electricians, apart from technical proficiency, require a combination of digital and environmental skills to respond to the installation, maintenance, and programming of smart metering and energy efficiency home automation systems. SMARTEL aimed to tackle this challenge by delivering a modular VET course and OERs on smart metering and home automation to empower electricians across the member countries of the consortium with modern digital and environmental knowledge, skills and competences. In particular, project objectives involved 1) Enhancing the labour market relevance of VET for electricians, to address smart metering and home automation skill needs, 2) Introducing modern training delivery methods and open access innovative pedagogical resources, enabling learners to acquire and self-assess relevant skills,3) Facilitate mutual recognition of the developed learning outcomes across the EU.The partnership comprised 6 organisations from 5 countries, from the world of VET, the electrical installation sector, energy efficiency research, as well as learning innovation experts. The Panevezys College (PANKO), VSRC and XABEC brought the expertise in the design and delivery of engineering and electricians VET programs and courses; the European Association of Electrical Contractors (AIE) represented the needs and workplace realities of the electrical sector at EU-level; EXELIA contributed as an expert in R&D and delivery of innovative ICT-based methodologies for VET and Sofia Energy Agency (SOFENA) brought experience from the area of energy efficiency.Main project activities involved: analysis of current and future workforce training needs to develop updated and tailored to sectoral needs smart metering and home automation learning outcomes, development of modular learning units for a comprehensive VET programme in smart metering and home automation, development of pedagogical resources and assessment tools to be offered as Open Education Resources, development, testing, and delivery of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on smart metering and home automation, promoting the adoption of innovative practices in vocational training, involvement of authorities and stakeholders for the endorsement and mutual recognition of SMARTEL units of learning outcomes and sharing and validation of outputs with multiplier events, inviting target groups to uptake SMARTEL results and to act as further disseminators.The SMARTEL project led to the following results and impact: - VET world and sector validated learning outcomes for training provision in smart metering and home automation technologies for electricians in the building installation sector.- Formal VET learning units on smart metering and home automation and VET integration guidelines.- Pedagogical resources and assessment tools for smart metering and home automation technologies, offered as OERs.- SMARTEL Massive Open Online Course on smart metering and home automation for electricians.- A signed agreement on the validation, endorsement, and mutual recognition of the SMARTEL units of learning outcomes.- A sectoral recommendations paper to support decision-making and pave the way for future developments in VET and skill development policies.- Two demonstration workshops and three national information days to promote project results and validate all developed educational resources.Finally, long term benefits of the project involve: the uptake of project materials and open educational resources from relevant VET providers across the EU, participation of a growing number of initial and continuous VET learners in courses based on project outputs, expansion of the strategic partnership towards a network of collaborating VET and sector stakeholders, including electrical enterprises, in-house training centres, and large VET providers, and further maturing and development of national and European VET policies targeted to the construction sector influenced by SMARTEL recommendations paper.

The project operates within the framework established by the work placement Consortium Erasmus+ León, coordinated by the Fundación General de la Universidad de León y de la Empresa (FGULEM). The Project has brought together the University of León and ten Vocational Training Centres (Centros de Formación Profesional de Grado Superior), with the objective of encouraging vocational training for its students in European companies within their academic field. The Consortium, which represents a population of over 20,000 students, has created a common working structure, allowing flexibility, reduction of red tape, efficient resource management, to cover the needs of its members with regard to the field of vocational training at a European level.Twenty-five placements, 13 of students and 25 of recent graduates, have been organised – fewer than the number requested, owing to various difficulties that arose in the management of the project. The first of these was a result of the short time the project has been in existence, in that for the first half of its 24-month life the project overlapped with the previous version. In addition to this, an unplanned interruption to the project’s activity occurred at the end of June 2016, when the technician in charge of the project had to be replaced while on leave. Finally, the decline in the economic support that the participants receive has made it difficult to find candidates who fulfill the requirements and who are able to accept difficult economic conditions.The main activities that have been carried out are:•The programme’s dissemination through a dedicated webpage, the coordinating Consortium’s social networks, member organisations' international communication networks, posters, and a weekly promotional broadcast on the Cope León station, giving information about the programme and the offers available throughout the project.•The search and selection of receiving organisations: FGULEM counts on a wide experience of the management of international programmes, on the basis of which it maintains good relations with a wide range of European organisations with which it has previously collaborated. In addition to this, a new network of business contacts has also been set up.•Recruitment of candidates on the part of the Consortium’s members.•Preparation of placements.•Management of placements.•Integrated continuous support on a range of questions affecting students: travel, accommodation, living conditions, etc.•Accreditation of placements.•Technical and economic implementation.Despite not having reached quantitative targets, we feel that we have indeed reached qualitative ones, and that the project has had a highly positive impact on both its participants as well as on the receiving organisations and the members of the Consortium. We are convinced that this experience will represent a great difference in the students’ professional itineraries, since in addition to the professional skills acquired during the placement programme, they have been able to develop their linguistic skills, along with their capacity to deal with new situations. The success of two of the participants, who were offered contracts of employment in their placement organisations, should be underlined.The receiving organisations, for their part, have enhanced their activity through having been able to count on the support of trained students with international experience and knowledge of languages.For the members of the Consortium, the Project has had a very positive impact through fulfilling its mission of fostering students’ employability and international development.

The main objective of sequa’s mobility programme 2016-2018 was the improvement and internationalization of technical vocational education and training (TVET) in Europe and the promotion of mobility for trainees and professionals in vocational education. The programme consisted of the three programme segments SINDBAD, TRANSDUAL and move-it. SINDBAD offered trainees of all professions engaged in dual vocational education or one year after finishing the apprenticeship, the opportunity to gather working experience in other European countries. The average duration of a learning experience in a company abroad was three to four weeks, mostly organized as a group event. The programme segment TRANSDUAL addressed trainees in commercial occupations and supported business language and skills training in France, the UK or Spain. SINDBAD and TRANSDUAL allowed the participants to learn new techniques within their occupations in the host country, to increase their language skills and intercultural competences and thus, improve their competitiveness. Through the development of professional, methodical, and social competencies of the participants, the programme segments made a contribution to the fight against youth unemployment in Europe.The programme segment for professionals in vocational education of the consortium partners is called move-it (mobility of vocational educational institutions and trainers). It enabled individual professionals in vocational education to exchange work experiences and techniques with other professionals abroad. The designs of the study trips varied significantly, according to the needs, and gave the participants the opportunity to get insights about European VET structures, to increase their language and intercultural competences and to develop a European network. Teachers and trainers were able to use their learning experiences abroad to enhance their teaching and the development of new training concepts. Furthermore, they motivated their apprentices to become more open to working opportunities abroad.Both target groups of sequa’s mobility programme are important multipliers in mobility, especially the professionals in vocational education. Open-minded VET professionals and “mobile” trainees with experience abroad, who think internationally, contribute to the intra-European recognition of learning experiences and support the harmonisation of European TVET systems.It is sequa’s commitment to support vocational mobility sustainably by increasing the number of study trips for apprentices, journeymen and professionals in the TVET sector. For the mobility programme 2016-2018, sequa and its ten consortium partners planned to realize 362 study trips to 16 countries. 307 of these mobility measures were part of sequa’s pool project for trainees (programme segments SINDBAD and TRANSDUAL) whereas 55 study trips were reserved for the group of vocational teachers and trainers (programme segment move-it). All granted study trips for both target groups, trainees and professionals in vocational education, were implemented within the two year duration of the project, which is a utilization of 100%. The average duration of a learning experience for trainees was with 21 days only one day longer than the estimated duration of 20 days. The study trips of VET professionals lasted on average only 3 days, which is only half of the duration that was anticipated during the application. It was difficult for teachers and instructors to be absent from work for a whole week. Therefore, 2% of the budget could not be utilized due to the shorter duration of the VET professional study trips. The mobility programme 2016-2018 was implemented very successfully, documented by the high interest of the target participants. All granted study trips were executed (100%) and 98% of the financial budget was utilized. It contributed to the European education agenda “Education and Training 2020”, which tar-gets that in 2020 up to 10% of the TVET trainees in Germany complete part of their vocational education abroad.

This is a higher education student and staff mobility project, please consult the website of the organisation to obtain additional details.