"The aim of “Alcorcón en Europa” Project has been to raise the rates of employment of the participants by increasing their chances of personal development and employability. ""ALCORCÓN EN EUROPA II"" is sponsored by a Consortium which has been coordinated by the Municipal Institute for Employment and Economic Development of Alcorcón (IMEPE) and has gathered 9 active entities in the field of education and employment with solid experience in the implementation of mobility projects. This project has provided continuity to the projects ""ALCORCÓN IN EUROPE"" and ALCORCON EN EUROPA II”, strengthening the relationship between partners and enlarging the impact of these projects.23 participants aged 18 to 67 have taken part in the project. These participants were entitled with VET Professional Certificates in any of the following areas: Cinematographic and audiovisual production assistance - Health and social care for dependent people in social institutions-Management of tele assistance calls -Merchandising and retail store promotion- Environmental interpretation and education-Operating voice and data communication systems-Auxiliary operations in administrative and general services-Technician in Commercial Activities-Administrative management expert-Technician in Microcomputer Systems and Networks- Expert in auxiliary nursery care-Technician in Telecommunications Installations-Technician in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Installations-Technician in Hairdressing and Hair Cosmetics-By means of this project, we have covered the needs that participants had shown and that were identified during the research period before the project was launched: •Low level of a second language, which reduced their possibilities of employment. •Lack of experience or practical learning in their professional sector, which reduced their competitiveness when looking for a job. •Lack of expertise in their field of education as a consequence of short experience•Need of adaptation to new technologies (TICs). Besides, we can conclude that we have reached the following objectives: •Participants have completed a period which has provided them quality education and we have encouraged transnational practical work based learning. •We have strengthen the connection between business world and education by paying attention to their specific needs, building bridges of connection and creating synergy. •Thanks to the transnational experience, we have provided an opportunity to improve a second language. •We have guaranteed a better recognition of the competences acquired in this process.•Participants have developed their entrepreneurship ability, which will contribute to create autonomous and sustainable societies. •We have raised awareness among people of new labour opportunities where skilled professionals are needed. •We have contributed to raise public awareness about the importance of putting into practice international actions that lead to local development and the understanding of the new realities and cultures.•We have contributed to the alignment of VET policies with strategies of development at local, regional, national or even European level.The process we followed through for making the selection of participants was open and transparent. Selected candidates have completed a quality training period of 3 months in companies located in Italy, Portugal and UK. Being a training program, the project firstly aimed to young students, because the rate of unemployment affects them particularly. However, we have also selected people over 45 because they submitted the applications and showed great interest in taking part of the project. Fortunately, the final results have been really positive. The Consortium established partnerships with intermediary organizations and companies which have helped to coordinate the training programs and have contributed to the quality of the project in the different cities where the project has been developed. Apart from the mobility itself, the project has produced an added value, as it is, the creation of a comprehensive tailored program of job insertion itineraries which offer the participants services of work orientation and job insertion through local bodies once they have returned home. We believe that this Project has had a direct impact on the participants (acquisition of professional experience at an international level, improving of a second language and raising of competitiveness and job opportunities) and indirectly in Alcorcón, Móstoles and the surrounding towns, contributing to the social and economic development of the area."

1) CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVESThis consortium initially comprised 15 institutions from different socio-economic contexts and specialities, which have in common the values they teach, their educational methodology and the relevance they give to innovation in the school environment. During the implementation of the project, 1 new school joined this consortium, with 16 partners. One of the reasons for the formation of this Consortium was the sharing of objectives and difficulties shared by the schools to improve the key competences of students and teachers and to offer mobility opportunities to those who could not afford it on their own.Our aim was to empower participants to tackle the problem of de-motivation and school drop-out, promoting respect for diversity and multiculturalism.This consortium made it possible to promote new methods of teaching and learning foreign languages, cooperating between the various training centres present in the consortium, organisations working through non-formal education, and organisations in the world of work. As a result of this cooperation we have established a long-term sustainable network and opened up spaces for the exchange of good practices and improvement of sustainable methods and projects.2)PARTICIPANTSDue to the variety of centres in this Consortium, the profile of the participants is very heterogeneous. The selection criteria have been common to all the centres. 3)ACTIVITIES -90 student mobilities with duration of 30 days (2 days of travel). The mobilities are distributed among 14 schools (one school did not have any participants) to 10 destinations (12 to Poland, 10 to Slovenia, 8 to Portugal, 8 to Italy, 10 to France, 15 to Malta, 7 to the Netherlands and 10 to Romania, 5 to Greece and 5 to Macedonia) - 6 mobilities of teachers from 6 schools, with a duration of 5 days of activity (plus 2 travel days) to 3 destinations 1 to Poland, 1 to Malta and 4 to Italy -10 mobilities of accompanying persons, one for each destination of the students, with duration of 5 days of activity plus 2 of travel. 4)METHODOLOGY -PREVIOUS PHASE: Meetings were organized between the centres to inform the staff and organize the next action plan. -DURING THE PROJECT: Members followed the planned dissemination strategy and informed their audiences about the project. The selection phase followed common criteria and those selected were provided with linguistic and intercultural preparation. The coordinator of the consortium planned with the partners the management of mobilities and stays abroad. 5) LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE STUDENTSThe students worked on their sense of initiative and responsibility right from the first stages of the project, having to use their computer and communication skills. In the preparation phase they were able to improve their linguistic and social skills, exploring their fears, expectations and sensitivity thanks to the common moments of reflection and training organized.Finally in the mobility phase they improved their professional skills and acquired transversal competences that helped them to grow as people.FOR THE TEACHING STAFFThe staff also improved their sense of initiative and were more motivated to take responsibility within the centre because of the greater involvement required. Thanks to the presentation of their own mobility plan, they were able to improve their language and communication skills, being more involved in the improvement of the centre and in the dissemination of results. 6)BENEFITSThe participants, during all the phases of the project, had the opportunity to mature on a personal, social and working level. They developed their creative, resolute and enterprising capacity by living in a new environment and having to deal with responsibilities and unknown contexts. As a result of the good functioning of this consortium, 3 new consortiums were created and presented in the 2019 and 2020 calls. The project coordinated by the coordinating centre of this consortium was financed in the 2019 call.

"The project, named ""TUBALCAÍN VET IN EUROPE"", has as its main goal the improvement of the personal and professional education of the Vocational Education students of the IES Tubalcaín. The duration of the internship was:- 32 days in Italy- 31 days in PolandDue to the difficulty of being able to travel on the scheduled dates given the availability of flights, the duration of mobility for students from Poland has been 31 days.During the mobilities the students made 160 hours of internship in the companies. Most of the students went with all the approved modules and the internships have been part of the 410 total hours of the professional module of Training in Workplaces (FCT) which is required in each VET studies.After checking the training needs and considering the objectives of the project, several companies from 2 different countries were chosen that operate in the fields of our three educational branches: Transport and Vehicle Maintenance, Installation and Maintenance, and Administration and Management.The countries chosen for this project were Italy and Poland. These destinations have been chosen on the basis of students' preferences, their language level and the quality of the companies in which they were able to carry out the internships, with the aim of offering a variety of experiences, European techniques and methodologies to improve their vocational and personal training.Although it was planned to carry out mobilities in companies in Slovenia and France, in the end no internships were carried out in these countries.The mobilities that took place in the 2018/2019 academic year were:- Italy: 15 students in the first year, in 2019.- Poland: 3 students in the first year, in 2019Taking into account that 3 students were minors and that, in general, they do not have previous experience of travelling abroad, 3 teachers travelled with them and accompanied them during the first week.In the 2019/2020 academic year it was planned to carry out 14 mobilities of this project, and despite having carried out all the necessary formalities and training to carry out the mobility, Finally, the students were not able to do the internships due to the international situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.The objectives of the project have been:- To provide better opportunities for pupils/students: Students have been given the same opportunities as other young people/students in Spain. The IES Tubalcaín is located in a rural area away from large population centres and therefore in an area that offers fewer opportunities for students/ as they have fewer services. We have offered our students the most complete training and new opportunities.- To improve the intercultural skills of students: our students have had the opportunity to leave home and to get in touch with people from different countries and cultures, with different customs and have found it necessary to practice, speak and understand a language other than one’s own. Thanks to an international experience, students have improved their intercultural skills, developed values of respect, tolerance and will help to contribute to a more inclusive society.- To promote study and employability, and reducing school drop-out: in the area where the Centre is located, such initiatives are a very positive complement to the training of pupils/s. International internships mean an improvement in the training offered by the Centre, helping in the training of students, facilitating their subsequent integration into the labour market and improving their employability, as well as encouraging entrepreneurship. All this encourages the students to continue with their studies, decreasing the dropout rate.- To Improve the personal and professional skills of students/s: this international experience has exposed students/s to new situations and has helped them to mature and develop on a personal level, and to acquire key personal and professional skills. In addition, pupils/students have improved their language skills.The benefits of the project has had a positive impact on all participants:- The students/participants have benefited in terms of improving their personal, professional and linguistic training. This has improved their opportunities to enter the world of work, or for continuity with higher education or entrepreneurship: a high percentage of participants are working in companies in the area and the rest are studying a higher degree.- The Education Centre offers more complete training and is open to the outside world. The area benefits from the best qualifications of its workers and helps to improve the perception of vocational training."

This is our second project implemented within the framework of Erasmus + 2014-2020 addressed to our VET students and teachers. We have given continuity and consolidation to a number of goals and achivements set when we started our participation in Erasmus + in 2017. The development of this project has been hampered by the pandemic caused by COVID-19, which forced us to cancel 100% of the ErasmusPro mobilities that were coordinated, some of them with the students at the destination. Thanks to the possibility of requesting an extension in this project, we have been able to complete and execute a large part of the funds granted to our school, besides achieving the objectives and learning results that make us advance in our European Development Plan and internationalization strategy .In this project we have been able to offer the opportunity to carry out a training stay to 18 students who were studying any of the specialties included in our training offer in middle grade cycle, as well as 2 of our teachers, who carried out a one-week training period - job shadowing - in other European centers and companies where they have been able to learn new approaches to working and teaching methods, as well as sharing experiences and impressions with peers.Our students of the middle grade cycles in Social Health Care / Commerce / Livestock Farms / Agricultural Production / PCPI Gardens and Parks Assistant, were able to carry out a period of work practices, which in most cases lead them to complete the FCT module and obtain the technical qualification. Therefore, the program has been a plus in the training itinerary of our students, who could finish their degree and give an international dimension and projection to their professional career.Among the objectives set at the beginning of the project, we can affirm that most of them have been successfully achieved: - We have consolidated innovative training paths that add an international dimension to our educational offer - We encourage our students and educational team to follow continuous learning that responds to their training needs - We have helped students and teachers to design their own training programs, thus promoting their autonomy and entrepreneurship to create tailor-made programs. - Our European network is diversifying our contacts, with companies and educational centers, that create synergies that enrich our knowledge and experience at an international level. - Consolidate the Erasmus + program as an effective tool that facilitates the assimilation of a second and third language.The results and impact achieved have been very positive for our entire educational community: - Our students show greater motivation and curiosity to continue their learning process. This experience has made them appreciate the importance of training in an international environment, learning a second language that facilitate an international projection in their career. - Our teachers have been able to keep close contact with colleagues from other European schools and companies with whom to learn about the peculiarities of a different learning and work environment. They have also been able to analyze educational projects implemented in other European schools and explore an adaptation to our educational reality, especially concerning Dual Vocational Training. - Our school has taken a further step to consolidate an international network that give quality to our mobility projects as well as solidity to our internationalization strategy and European Development Plan.