<< Background >>This Project arose from the need to develop the ESJP as a quality teaching institution, at a level that is increasingly intended to be European.The strategy that has been implemented inexorably involves active participation in European mobility programmes. Thus, the need to implement a complementary Project to the strategy in practice emerged, in the area of ​​Vocational Education, whose courses at the School were: Sports Technician; Management Technician and IT Equipment Management Technician. The application to this Project allowed the students of these courses to carry out the training in a work context in a country other than Portugal, where they were able to experience a real work situation.<< Objectives >>The implementation of this Project enabled students to have professional experience, which complements their academic training, the acquisition, consolidation and improvement of linguistic and intercultural skills that are fundamental in the current European and international job market.Mobility promoted a glimpse of the transition from the school context to the reality of what the labor/business market can be, allowing students to acquire skills suited to the needs of the labor market, promoting new opportunities for the professional development of trainees; acquisition in the areas of training of candidates; promoting the spirit of initiative and also the entrepreneurial spirit as a capacity to implement ideas.The objectives that guided this Project were, with satisfaction, achieved, namely:- Acquisition and development of techniques related to the practice of their area of ​​training, through the acquisition of essential tools;- Development of general and specific skills- Social and human skills related to each training area;- Linguistic competences;- Skills in the field of information technologies and digital training;<< Implementation >>The activities were implemented according to the training area:Sports Technician: participate/guide, under the guidance of their Mentor Teacher, in the planning and implementation of group activities to improve physical fitness, within the scope of physical sports activities in accordance with the rules and discipline and participate in the design and implementation of programs physical sports activities in the context of entertainment and leisure time;Management Technician: active collaboration in the financial management of the project during the mobility, stock management (purchases), preparing the study visits carried out during the mobility to Helsinki, Lahti and Heinola at the level of the visit guide and all the underlying documentation;IT Equipment Management Technician: plan, execute and update interactive pages for the internet, namely the project diary and its blog; installing, configuring and managing network operating systems and data communications applications (e-mail, internet, etc.) and capturing and editing images and video of the activities carried out during the mobility.The management and cleaning activities of the housing space, cooking skills and purchases were carried out by all students.<< Results >>Quantitative results:- Successful completion of the 280-hour internship; from the 12th year and respective certification of Sports, Management and Computer Equipment Management Technicians of all participating finalist students (9 out of 18);- Successful completion of an internship lasting 120 hours (+ 40 hours of credit for the following academic year) of the 1st year students of the Professional Technical Sports Course of all participating students (9 out of 18);- Improvement in language skills at the level of the English language pointed out by 90% of the participating students;Qualitative results according to the opinion of the Mentor Teachers- Acquisition and development of techniques related to the practice of their area of ​​training: 100% of students;- Development of general and soft skills: 100% of students;- Acquisition/Improvement of skills in the field of information technologies and digital training: 100% of students;- Development of social and human skills according to the training area: 100% of students;- Development of skills in the scope of management and cleaning of the living space and cooking skills: 70% of students;

Accredited projects for mobility of learners and staff are implemented by organisations holding an Erasmus accreditation. Each accredited project represents a step in the implementation of the organisation's long-term Erasmus Plan.

The Covilhã.Forma consortium was created with the intention of giving an answer to the will shown by each of the schools: to offer its students the possibility of carrying out an internship in an international context, as a vehicle for training and regional development.The consortium was formed by the city of Covilha and five schools in the county: Associação para a Formação Tecnológica e Profissional da Beira Interior (AFTEBI) Escola Secundária Quinta das Palmeiras (ESQP) Escola Secundária Campos Melo (ESCM) Escola Profissional Agrícola Quinta da Lageosa (EPAQL) Escola Secundária Frei Heitor Pinto (ESFHP)Each of these schools, by itself, did not have the human, financial resources and even time, allowing them to submit an individual application.The Municipality has emerged as the obvious coordinator for the consortium, since it has all the necessary means and already has the role of mediator in the management of relations between the various County schools, from preschool to higher education.Furthermore, and as is the will of all stakeholders, the establishment of a broad consortium secured the impact of a joint project have been much higher.The project developed from the county needs recognition and schools and is in its interconnection that define their objectives: combat dropout and truancy Advancing national character and international projects Promote Vocational Education as a quality alternative promote the social inclusion of young people in socio-economic disadvantage Ensure qualified professionals in the county develop policies and actions to support County youth build new networks of local and international partnershipThe ultimate goal was to increase the employability of young competent professionals and thereby promote human settlement in the region.All these objectives have contributed to the development of schools and county.The participants in this project were 20 students (4 students per school) following the sending schools and the respective vocational training courses:• Escola Profissional Agrícola Quinta da Lageosa (EPAQL) - Course Equine Management (2 members), Agricultural Production Course Variant Animal (2 participants)• Escola Secundária Campos Melo (ESCM)- Fashion Production Course (1 participant), Event Management Course (1 participant), Mechatronics course (2 participants)• Escola Secundária Frei Heitor Pinto (ESFHP)- Environmental Management degree (2 participants), Sports Management Course (2 participants)• Associação para a Formação Tecnológica e Profissional da Beira Interior (AFTEBI)- Industrialization Course Product Fashion (2 participants) Programming Course Computer Systems (1 participant), Mechatronics Technology Course (1 participant)• Escola Secundária Quinta das Palmeiras (ESQP)- Multimedia Course (3 participants), Tourism Course (1 participant)Performed activities:The activities planned by the participants for this project included the preparation process, the language course (1 week), the internship with the 12 weeks and the evaluation and certification of mobility.In the case of a consortium, in the management and monitoring of the project, meetings were held between the different partners in order to plan the entire project implementation and dissemination.Mobilities will take place between June and September 2015 and September and December 2015:Italy - 4 participantsUnited Kingdom - 4 participantsSpain - 6 participantsFrance - 6 participantsAll participants received the Europass Mobility, language course certificate, internship certificate and promoter of the certificate.The main impacts recorded in this project were:- Personal Profile Strengthening and professional participants- Self-esteem improved by recognition of new knowledge- Greater openness and connection of participants and community to Europe- European solid professional experience, knowledge of European dynamics in terms of the labor market- New valuation of attitudes of human rights, citizenship, gender equality and equal opportunities- Elimination of barriers to the mobility of people, ideas and knowledge- Domain strategic European languages, and consequent greater integration odds on the European labor market- Skills certified in consolidated training course- Reducing the dropout rate- Recognition of the validity and importance of vocational courses- Definition of new strategies and approach of the training curriculum to the European context- Partnerships with companies at European level consolidated- Needs of employers answered the countyThe dissemination of the project resorted to different means allowed to disclose their impact both in terms of schools or the county. They were used as media: internet, radio, press, with articles, photos and videos. It is also being planned to organize a final seminar of the project.

Our project under the coordinator of our school is a consortium one which is composed of the partnership of Antalya Yusuf Önertöy Multiple Programme Anatolian High School and Antalya Elmalı Occupational Education Center. Our project involves mobility of 15 students and 1 companion from every school in the field of electric-electronic technologies of electric systems and panel monitoring which is totally 45 students and 3 companions to Portugal,Czech Republic and Romania.Electric-electronic technology is the second favorite field among the preferences of vocational high schools. Therefore, competitiveness is too high in employment. This increase the significance of employee who can present practical solutions, innovations and improve occupational knowledge. Particularly the people who can transfer theoretical knowledge to professional field in computer technology are preferred at the top in employment. Nowadays, applications such as energy distribution and device controls are made over the panels which is improved and designed according to needs in facilities of industrial, health, education and so on. Hence computer-aided solutions is inevitable, which technology requires. Our students can improve themselves by advanced computer-aided professional applications in digital media together with school lessons in traditional methods. Our students who can take advanced education in installment and panel design by computer-aided production can have the opportunity to specialize in their fields in addition to installment and panel education that they took and they will take. At the same time, they improve their professional self-esteem by personal design studies. It is aimed that employment chance of our students who can have professional education in EU standards increase in both national and international area. General expectations of our project in our students’ favor as follows:*development of electric installment and panel design skills in computer which is related to our students’ professional fields and gaining the habit of producing innovative and practical solutions,*Following the mobility, keeping our students ahead by certifying the education which they receive*Providing our students to continue their education and professional process by increasing their excitement*Providing applications in EU standards popular*Contributing our student’ personal development and providing and enhancing their social awareness by introducing them to different cultures. *Improving our students’ communication skills by language education and raising the importance of professional language knowledge *Extending and strengthening institutional capacity and international relations of our school in order to be a homeowner and do similar projects The sectors which innovative technologies are applied are one step ahead. Application area of these technologies are expanding in our developing country. As one of the preference reasons of the sector in employment, our students can meet the personnel requirements which are integrated with technology. By this way, they will be one step ahead of their competitors in study process. Moreover, they will turn this into an opportunity in their individual career. Our project execution commission will evaluate the project by activities such as questionnaire, meeting, exam etc. and prepare a result report. This report make the local widespread by mass media, seminar, conference etc. in sectoral and national area. Students, teachers, school administrators and also many agencies and institutions realize the significance of EU projects in social and professional life by this project. Furthermore, they will be interested in preparation of EU projects. Thereby, the aim of extending our project will realize.Foreign language knowledge in their lecture notes, increase in communication skills and interest to the occupation will be evaluated as a short-term success.Continuity of student’s education in college or/and university, being employed in a short time after graduation and positive developments in educational tools and applications in our field will be evaluated as a long-term success. Additionally, convenience of professional applications in the agencies and institutions which our students are employed with the education which students take in Erasmus+ project will be considered as the basic success.

ContextThe global economy has been transformed by the Internet in the last two decades. In the developed world, there has been a shift towards a post-industrial model of employment, where factory work and routine office work is routinely outsourced or automated by robots and software. The career path of 21st-century careers allows us to create our own job opportunities by freelancing, testing out our ideas by building our digital brands, getting creative with our talent development and how we create value for other people.Our students become professionals in their fields but, most of the times, encounter difficulties in identifying job opportunities, especially since some of our areas are predominantly poor and lack career opportunities. The job markets have now been digitalized and unless we adapt soon, we will find it increasingly difficult to catch up. Given these circumstances, we believe that the time has come for us, secondary and VET schools, to upgrade our approach to the newest trends in job-related skills.Project's Objectives1. To enable students and teachers to exchange practices and experiences in the VET field2. To improve students’ 21st century job skills – learning, literacy and life skills3. To create the context for students to apply the acquired skills4. To increase students’ ability to identify career opportunities and boost students’ employability 5. To improve language, ICT and professional skills6. To develop intercultural competence, tolerance and respect for other culturesParticipantsStudents and teachers will participate directly in the project. The target group we are addressing is made up of approximately 600 students aged 15-18. They are on the point of graduation at the end of the project and we will be better able to observe the impact on them as a result. The students we target are all training in different professional fields and we aim to design all activities so that they apply to all of them irrespective of their specialization. From this group, we will select a number of 114 students at the level of the partnership (22/23 per country) who will attend the exchanges, accompanied by 39 teachers.ActivitiesMainly carried out during 1-week workshops/exchanges in each of the participating countries:C1 - Developing learning skills for students (LV, NOVEMBER 2020)C2 - Developing literacy skills for students (SRB, MARCH 2021)C3 - Developing life skills for students (PT, MAY 2021)C4 - Job seeking and job applications in the field (IT, NOVEMBER 2021)C5 – Start-up business (TR, APRIL 2022)ResultsThe project is going to have a series of results – tangible and intangible. The intangible results refer to students’ acquisition and development of knowledge, skills and abilities, improved cooperation among schools in European states which can result in future project initiatives and collaborations.Tangible results:- Workshop written output related to activities meant to develop sets of skills. There will be 5 such sets of workshop materials, one produced during each exchange. These materials will be published and made available online, for other schools to use. They will also be used in our schools with other students in future years- Step-by-step guide to boost employability of graduate students- Presentations of job market trends in each countries- Presentation of online tools and lists of search engines for the identification of job opportunities in all partner countries- Pictures from the events- Reports of the transnational meetings- Project dissemination tools- Promotion materials- Presentations of schoolsImpact The partner schools will have visible benefits from the participation in this project. First of all, we will expand our VET network and be able to exchange practices and experiences with similar institutions all over Europe. This will help us improve our approaches to teaching, our practices and methodologies, in such a way so as to obtain optimal results. We will exchange experiences related to Erasmus+ projects for students, will learn about the results of partners from previous projects which will help us in current activities with students. We will therefore be able to establish long-term cooperation. We will enlarge our material basis and our international dimension. We shall use the materials developed within the partnership with future generations of students and share them with other schools in our areas. We will therefore be better equipped to bridge the gap between school life and work life.