Boarders of European Union continue to evolve and the development of skills for our European workers is essential for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. Indeed, crafts and companies are dealing more and more with international exchanges and facing a multinational competition, for both professionals and production technics. Qualifications and skills are therefore need to be updated. In order to move on that direction, it is primordial to provide each apprentice with the possibility to be trained and to work on a European level. Les Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France which train apprentices and young professional, by traveling, community living and knowledge transmissions, have always had a strong commitment to European mobility programmes. Long-term mobility projects have always existed in our Association. It is part of our specific professional training “Le Tour de France” to have a one-year experience abroad. So far, almost 7400 of our young graduated have already benefitted from such an amazing experience.Since 2004, more than 17350 apprentices have therefore benefitted from a 3 weeks mobility project in European Union, owing to our trusted partners, in any of our trades (industry, construction, building, baking, leather and textiles trades). Driven by our strong desire to institutionalize the mobility project abroad for our apprentices, we have mention the European mobility period into the training program for all our level 4 apprentices, under the framework agreement signed in 2009 with our ministry of National education.Thanks to Erasmus + agreement for 2017-2019, we exceed our objectives and financed mobility for 1222 apprentices in gathered mobility projects together with their class and their trade teacher (107 teachers in total); 152 young professionals gone for a one-year individual mobility; 8 post-apprentices who went abroad from 6 to 12 months in order to continue their apprenticeship; 39 young participants in a 2 weeks technical training and 4 staff members, gone for a job shadowing or a training.The enhancement of the quality of our project is owing to the pedagogical projects developed by our trainers and hosting partners, who suggest a precise program compatible with the specificities of the host country. This approach is necessary as mobility period are included in our training programs in France and comforts also the employers of our apprentices, worried about this mobility project abroad of their employee. Indeed, the project allowed our participants to acquire professional, language, intercultural and cross-disciplinary skills. Indeed, apprenticeship and trades are different from one country to another. Travelling is also a way to develop its adaptability and flexibility, two qualities required in the labor market. Our partners involved in our projects are training organizations, companies and intermediate organisms in 23 countries. Mobility is more and more recognized in those countries; therefore most of the previous work placements are renewed year after year. Years of experience with our partners allow us to organize those projects in mutual trust and prepare at best each participant for his mobility.Each apprentice’s mobility has been validated and recognized through a Europass, and for our post-apprentices, their skills and competences are highlighted on our online pedagogical platform “Aquisav”. With the mod-term puropose of using ECVET system, our partners already signed the “Memorandum of Understanding”. For this project, the International Service has maintained relationships with partners and developed new partnerships, ensured the administrative and financial monitoring of the fellowships, created necessary tools to help pedagogical teams. The service also helped their training centers in France for organizing the gathered mobility projects if needed and they supported young professional going abroad for one year (individual mobility) and the ones who were following a 2-weeks technical training.This ambitious project couldn’t have been organized without the considerable investment of our staff members involved, in particular educational staffs and trainers, for which we are very grateful.

"The In Dance! project is a European musical representing 3 countries, 5 languages and 3 cultures: Portugal, Germany and Hungary. This project has offered a special experiment to 30 young people, among them 10 with a mental or motor disability, together with 10 young people in need, with few opportunities, with an experienced team of 6 educators, motivated by this challenge and eager to receive such a group. Those young people has lived together for the first time a European exchange between Portugal, Hungary and Germany during which they have participated to diverse activities: dancing, acting (theatre) and singing, in order to perform a musical in english at the end of the exchange. This show has been filmed and photographed for a dissemination to the media and to the community in general. The main goal was to organise gatherings between different young people and to promote creative, active, fun, stimulating and educational activities like painting, drawing, nature walking, games, yoga and therefore allow equality of opportunities, socialisation, and interaction between young people with different cultures, lives, habits and languages and to contribute to their well-being. The main stake in the ""In Dance"" European exchange was to first of all give young disabled and disadvantaged people the opportunity to open up to the outside world. This experience has allowed holistic development of youth, development of social, personal and cognitive skills, as well as working important values like autonomy, self-confidence, self-esteem, friendship, respect, tolerance, justice, democracy, mutual aid, solidarity, knowledge, general culture, responsibility and awareness. The ""In Dance project"" addresses young people from 13 to 30 years old, with fewer opportunities and in a disabled situation (motor or mental), half of them being minors. This European exchange lasted 15 days (plus 2 travel days), from the 6th to the 20th of August 2017 at São Brás de Alportel - Faro, in Algarve, in Portugal for 30 young people equitably divided between the 2 criteria (disadvantaged / disabled) and between the three partners. Those groups were guided and accompanied by educators from the sending country and also from the hosting country to orientate the activities. This innovating project for the Algarve region and for each of the partners has requested a great motivation from all the young people for the proposed and chosen activities. It ended successfully with the presentation of the musical in front of the local Algarve community. The impact on the community was to put forward the importance of social responsibility, acknowledgement of human value, awareness of the capacities and skills of young people with issues, whatever they were (disadvantaged or disabled) and that this community can accept those young people as they are.In Dance has proved that those young people, despite their issues, can create and represent Europe through artistic and cultural activities."