Participants in the project VET learner and staff mobility are 20 students of the second and third grade of electronics and computing, 4 accompanying persons who are teachers of electronics and computing, and the coordinator, in charge of the vocational final exams, teacher of foreign languages as a specific language and expert for ICT. During the mobility activities, that will last for 42 days, the students will be involved into the process of practical work and educational process. The accompanying persons will be students' advisors, tutors and mentors during the mobility activities. Together with the partners' organizations, local and national educational and working institutions they will plan and complete an innovative project work based on the fields of electronics and/or computing during the project time. The planning will start before the beginning of the main activity. The topics of the project may be decided on one of the following suggestions: intelligent installations, robotics, alternative sources of energy, computer network, web applications or designing web pages. We will create an electronic multilingual dictionary (English, Italian and Slovene) of general expressions from the fields of electronics and computing. During the mobility activities we will monitor the planned results and represent them at the end of the project time. Monitoring the activity process and the results will help to compare the learning impacts with the ones on the national and European level. We would like to strengthen the ties between schools, educational and working organizations and employers on the national and European level to impact on the premature learner's leave and promote the shortage occupations. With ECVET and EUROPASS we can assure European quality. Being involved into the professional, cultural, linguistic and social experience during the Mobility project the students will accomplish their professional knowledge and skills as well as their personal growth. The ticket for a successful future is guaranteed. The results and learning impacts of our Erasmus+ project will be disseminated to the public through educational and social networks, on national and international conferences, in local newspapers, lectures, job presentations and workshops. This European project is a great and valuable opportunity for young learners to ensure their future on the present deeds.

Context, background, number and type of participants:The BWIHK, the umbrella organisation of the 12 chambers of industry and commerce in Baden-Wuerttemberg, is aiming amongst others to foster the internationalisation of vocational training in Baden-Wuerttemberg.The BWIHK has once again enabled apprentices from Baden-Wuerttemberg to spend four weeks abroad in Europe (primarily in England, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands). The apprentices were all of age and came from the commercial sector and the trade and service sector or the hospitality trade. Most of them had already completed their first apprenticeship year. Of the 120 apprentices selected, 119 were sent abroad – one participant was, unfortunately, unable to travel due to illness.Goals / activities on site:The goals of the project are to increase the independence, flexibility and mobility of the young people already during their training. Through their stays abroad, the apprentices have gained new insights into other ways of working and impressions of another culture. This came through a mix of one week of intensive language training followed by a three-week work placement and accommodation with a host families (in England and Ireland). Through the internships and host family accommodation, the apprentices have experienced the everyday life in a foreign country, while they expanded their language skills. In their free time they did a lot of exploring of the area, so that cultural programme was given, too.Results and effect:The number of years of experience of our service center shows that stays abroad during the training can be considered very positive. Many training supervisors and personnel managers support Go.for.europe’s programme and would like to give their apprentices such an unique opportunity. The participants experiences abroad also have a very positive effect on their training company at home – after their return the apprentices tend to be more open to new tasks and to easier approach customers or join their remaining training period more enthusiastically. Many companies like to point out these positive results on their social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, or even on the intranet or in employee magazines. Enabling apprentices to spend an internship abroad during their training brings an improved image to training companies and improves not least their chance to find good new apprenticeship applicants or in the end to retain them with the company upon having completed the apprenticeship. Many training companies in Baden-Wuerttemberg have been working with Go.for.europe for a long time now and have meanwhile constantly established training periods abroad in their training concept.

The funding applied for within the framework of the project will be used to finance stays abroad for a total of 559 individuals and 37 accompanying persons.321 apprentices will complete a 4 to 6 week internship specifically suited to their profession, individual level of training, knowledge and skills at a company active in their professional field. IFA will organize internships in small groups for the fall of 2014 and spring of 2015. Participation is open for apprentices from every profession and industry from all over Austria. The applicants will be selected based on their technical, linguistic and personal skills. IFA will organize the travel, stay abroad, internship, accommodation and insurance for the participants as well as any necessary accompanying language courses. IFA will also prepare the apprentices and companies organizationally, culturally and linguistically for the stays and ensure the internships are recognized as part of the apprenticeship training in accordance with the Vocational Training Act (BAG). 174 students from vocational schools and colleges will also complete an internship relevant to their professional field that is suitable for their training and level of knowledge. The internships will be organized in close cooperation with the sending schools in order to ensure they are recognized as part of the compulsory internship. Most of the student internships will take place in the summer of 2014. The duration of the internship will range between 1 and 3 months.The content of the internships is defined in terms of the occupational and training profiles and curricula as well as the individual skills of the participants and is specified before the internship begins in a learning agreement between IFA, the participants and the sending and receiving institutions together with the learning objectives that are to be achieved during the internship.Given that a majority of the apprentices are minors, the apprentice groups will be accompanied by an IFA counselor during the first week abroad. The counselor will help the apprentices get settled in the host country and visit all the participating companies to ensure that the content and processes fulfill the learning agreements and objectives. Contact persons at the receiving institution and IFA will be available to support the participants throughout their entire stay abroad.Furthermore, within the framework of the project, 64 training officers from companies and vocational schools as well as vocational training experts will participate in a week-long workshop to exchange their experiences in order to learn about VET systems in other countries, compare them with the Austrian system and exchange ideas amongst each other and with colleagues from abroad. The goal is to promote the quality, innovation and the European idea in vocational education and training through cross-border exchanges. The participants are multipliers and can share their experiences in companies, schools and throughout Austria and thus contribute to a Europeanisation of the Austrian VET system.While abroad, the participants will acquire technical, linguistic, social, intercultural and personal skills and expand their personal and professional horizons. An internship abroad contributes to the strenghtening of important key skills such as teamwork, independence, personal responsibility, flexibility and much more. Experiences abroad promote career opportunities and ensure the future career of the participants and thus the competitiveness of Austrian companies. International exchange increases the overall quality of the Austrian VET. IFA is a non-profit association that has been organizing internships abroad since 1995 for apprentices, professionals and training officers. Since 1995, IFA has helped more than 6,500 people take part in an EU-funded stay abroad. As the applicant and co-ordinating institution, IFA will be responsible for ensuring the quality and proper organization of the project. IFA works with a network of experienced partners in the target countries with whom partnership agreements (Memoranda of Understanding) defining the conditions and quality criteria already exist. IFA has been successfully working together with most of the partner institutions for many years.Throughout the entire stay abroad, there is always someone from the receiving institution, the host company or IFA at the participant’s side to supervise their progress and ensure the quality of the internship. Upon completing the internship, all the participants will receive a “Personal Transcript” outlining the activities completed and knowledge and skills acquired with confirmation from the receiving institution and host company. All internships will be recognized as part of the vocational training in Austria.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany (German abbreviation: BWIHK), in an umbrella organization of the 12 Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Baden-Wuerttemberg (German Federal Land) and represents the voice of Baden-Wuerttemberg’s industry, trade and service sector whilst being committed to the overall interests of the economy. Therefore the BWIHK works together with different actors which are situated not only on the local (IHKs) and regional (IHKs) but also on the national (DIHK) and international (AHK) level.One of the main concerns of the BWIHK is to promote the internationalization of vocational training in Baden-Wuerttemberg. In the context of previous Leonardo da Vinci-mobility projects and now Erasmus+ the BWHK has already sent 340 trainees abroad during their training. Since 2008 the BWIHK has supported in cooperation with his partners more than 2000 trainees in doing an internship in different countries within Europe. Also in the upcoming years BWIHK aims to offer for again 120 trainees grants to gain work experience in Great Britain and Spain.The main target group of this project is dual commercial apprentices who are in the second year of their apprenticeship. The big advantage is that these young people have already achieved an adequate basic knowledge in their profession whilst at the same time not being in exams revision yet. BWIHK’s four-week internships during the previous project period took place in the following periods: autumn 2015/2016 and spring 2016/2017. The responsible project managers at BWIHK were (and still are) Ms. Verena Koenig, based at Lake Constance, and Ms. Julia Beck, based in Stuttgart who worked again with the same partner organizations like in the last years due to the well established cooperation. BWIHK’s UK partners were/are Tellus Group, located in Plymouth, and Twin Group in London. In Spain BWIHK’s cooperation applied to Service Internship Consulting, based in Málaga. In advance of their respective sendings abroad the apprentices attended comprehensive preparatory courses conducted their BWIHK Project Managers.During their stay abroad the above-mentioned partner organizations took care of the apprentices on-site. An airport shuttle on the apprentices’ arrival was ensured from the airport to their host families or respectively to their apartments. The apprentices attended a language course during the first week of their stay. The following three weeks they did an internship in a company and field which met the requirements/line of work of to their apprenticeship/profession. They worked 5 days a week, about 8 hours a day. On the weekends the partner organization offered a cultural programme, but they had also enough leisure time for their own.During the whole time of their programme participation the apprentices had to write a report portfolio and keep records about their stay abroad, including photos and notes. After their stay abroad the project got evaluated through different instruments. Therefore a follow-up seminar took place which was organized by the project managers of the BWIHK. The evaluation was done by interviewing the participants about their experience and their level of satisfaction with regard to their previous stay abroad. That was done e.g. by a standardized questionary which showed possible disturbances or unexpected developments and to allow the evaluator to react in case of need regarding future flows. The closing evaluation happened by analyzing the reports of the participants and the group discussions. For the future one of the most aims of the BWIHK is sending still more apprentices to Europe. Furthermore the BWIHK aims to continue convincing training companies of the importance and additional value of this great offer so that quite more apprentices can participate in this project in the upcoming years.