The Professional School of Vouzela was founded almost 25 years ago and its exclusively dedicated to the education and vocational training of young people.The lack of skilled labour in the Hospitality business in the region and the high percentage of dropout students, without preparation for life and for the labour market, was the reason behind the creation of thus Vocational School, which currently has 297 students spread across the several training courses.EP Vouzela, in a joint work of its staff and students, ensures the fulfilment of a growth strategy that strives for excellence, integration into the local, regional, national and European market. More than allow the school’s development in only one direction - the internationalization, this project and the knowledge that results from it, will build a two-way street, from local to international and vice versa.The EUROVOUZELA II project is structured to give continuity to the internationalization process started last year and has as OBJECTIVES:1- PREPARING STUDENTS FOR the ACTIVE LIFE - TRANSITION FROM THE ACADEMIC LIFE TO THE LABOUR MARKET2 - IMPROVING THE EP’S EDUCATIONAL OFFERE IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY, FIGHTING THE SCHOOL DROPOUT AND WITHDRAWAL THROUGH MOTIVATION AND ATTRACTIVENESS3 – CLOSENESS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY TO THE EUROPEAN REALITY - BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS AND INTERNATIONAL SYNERGIESThe needs of the EP Vouzela are necessarily those of their students:• High numbers of DROPOUTS / WITHDRAWALS AND SCHOOL FAILURE• WEAK LANGUAGE SKILLS, even at the English level• LITTLE EXPERIENCE OF STUDENTS IN WORK CONTEXT • COMMUNICATION in INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, as well as the so-called soft-skills• POOR OR LITTLE CIVIC PARTICIPATION. The feeling of belonging to Europe and the defence of Human Rights are a distant reality• DESENSIZATION/ LOW AWARENESS OF THE EUROPEAN REALITY• DESERTIFICATION• LACK OF LIFE GOALSThe mobility plan and cooperation for the academic year 2015/2016 is developed on two axes:(1) MOBILITY OF SCHOOL STAFF to a new context – Finland, in order to learn new procedures and practices, as this is a country well known for its political and educational distinct practices.(2) MOBILITY OF STUDENTS extending the territory of the students’ curricular internships to Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic, because we feel that a wider range of destinations can be more fruitful.The participants will be 20 trainees – from the 11th and 12th years of vocational training courses (level IV): Industrial Maintenance Technician - Electromechanical; Industrial Maintenance Technician - Automotive Mechatronics; Mechatronics Technician; Restaurant Kitchen-Pastry Technician; Restaurant-Food&Beverage Technician; Secretariat Technician; Trade Technician.The destination countries are selected according with the fact that these are references in the professional areas of the participants:- United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Germany for the areas of Industrial Maintenance, Electromechanics, Mechatronics and Automotive Mechatronics;- Spain and France in the areas of Trade and Secretariat;- Greece and Italy for the areas of Kitchen / Pastry, Restaurant/Bar.The student mobility periods in Group 1 countries will last 9 weeks and students who will go to the group of countries Group 2 will make 10 week program (1 week language course + 9 week internship).As for the job shadowing activities of the teachers, they will last for 1 week.The mobility of students will be certified through the delivery of the EUROPASS MOBILITY Certificate, INTERNSHIP CERTIFICATE, LANGUAGE COURSE CERTIFICATE, PROMOTER’S CERTIFICATE and ECVET; the teachers will receive a PROGRAM STATEMENT.The expected RESULTS and IMPACTS on the students and the school community are:- STUDENTS WITH STRENGTHENED QUALITY CVs THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO MORE EASILY JOIN THE LABOUT MARKET (NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL) AFTER THE END OF THE COURSES;- BEST EDUCATIONAL OFFER AND THEREFORE LOWER LEVELS OF SCHOOL DROPOUT/ WITHDRAWAL;- STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS CONSOLIDATED BY EP VOUZELA, AS WELL AS THE REGION AND THE ENTREPRENEURS THAT EMPLOY THE STUDENTS.At the Regional / Local level, the continuity of the development of the project will contribute to:• The sustainable development of the Region• The qualification of Human Resources of the Region • Higher levels of entrepreneurship• Closeness of the Region to the European sphereAt the European and International level, this project will contribute to:• Achieve the goals in the European 2020 Strategy in the fields of education, innovation and development.• Increase the number of European mobilities, duly certified and accredited.• The qualification of Human Resources, able to work in other countries.• Boost the cooperation between vocational training institutions and companies, which will facilitate the access to the European labour market.• The increase in the number of international partnerships and contacts.

"The RENADRION Project was born and was implemented in a dual context:1) the NATIONAL NETWORK OF TOURISM AND CATERING SCHOOLS (RENAIA) of which the 15 VET schools involved are members, including the Leading Organisation, IPSSEOA ""CORNARO"", which also holds the Presidency and which represents the most representative associational reality, at national level, of the educational offer in the tourism and catering sector;2) the EUSAIR EUROPEAN STRATEGY (2014-2020), which aims to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of tourism in the ADRIATIC-IONIAN MACROREGION, supporting the development of coastal, maritime and inland tourism, by improving the quality of tourism services and promoting sustainable economic and social prosperity through the growth of professions and the creation of new jobs.In line with these strategies and objectives, RENADRION has therefore offered 120 STUDENTS (of whom 16 with special needs and 15 with fewer socio-economic opportunities) in initial vocational training in the fourth classes and 90 RECENT GRADUATES (of which 12 with fewer socio-economic opportunities) of the 15 TOURISM AND CATERING SCHOOLS involved, the opportunity to carry out a European mobility experience lasting, respectively, 4 weeks and 3 months. In particular, they were participants attending an education and training course (target students) and newly graduated (new graduates) in the tourism services sector and who carried out the relevant professional figure abroad.RENADRION has therefore offered young participants an experience in companies in their field of studies and the opportunity to confront themselves with the linguistic skills possessed and the acquisition of specific job skills. The experience has combined, in particular, the learning outcomes achieved in the educational path with the needs of the labor market in the field of tourism promotion and management and has strengthened the knowledge of development strategies adopted in other contexts in the tourism sector, using the internship experience as a fundamental part of the educatioin and training path.Among the general objectives achieved by the project we can list:- The promotion of lifelong learning as a person's right to increase and update their skills, abilities and knowledge in learning formal, non formal and informal contexts;- The transparency of learning outcomes and the adherence of the training path to the needs of companies and professions in order to facilitate the encounter between labor demand and supply and increase the productivity and competitiveness of the production system;- The usability of qualifications at national and EU level in order to facilitate geographical and professional mobility also with a view to internationalization of companies and professions.The RENADRION mobility experience also developed the transversal skills of the participants, such as the spirit of initiative, the ability to adapt and the ability to relate to and interact with cultural contexts different from one's own.The transparency of learning outcomes in the tourism sector was guaranteed, finally, through the ECVET system and the establishment of a partnership able to work jointly on the units of learning outcomes and the methods of assessment, validation and recognition of skills acquired abroad by participants.These, therefore, the impacts achieved:- Development of skills of the target groups involved (210 young people among students and recent graduates);- Creation of models and training tools of innovative value;- Dissemination of results and training models among the stakeholders of the tourism sector and the VET system;- Making available results and training models for institutions and professionals in local, regional and national territories.The project can therefore be considered exemplary, which can be integrated into the strategic development of each Consortium partner, as well as being transferable outside it, for different aspects:- It created a WBL model with a system of actions aimed at specific training, but also at the global growth of the person. It saw the continuous and active involvement of all the project staff and supervision by the trainers and company mentors; accompanying and tutoring interventions; teaching methods based on involvement, participation, high integration between theory and practice, development of immediately usable practical skills, validation of acquired skills;- It has implemented a system of ongoing and final evaluations, allowing to monitor progress in terms of learning outcomes achieved by the participants, as well as to evaluate, validate and certify them."

We are a public school in Terrassa, that offers VET and Higher Education courses of Hospitality and Tourism. The VET courses that we offer are: Cookery and Gastronomy and Restaurant Services, both related to the hospitality industry. Terrassa is an industrial city with more than 200.000 inhabitants, the school is located in a working class neighbourhood. The Secondary students are from the same neighbourhood but the students of VET and Higher Education courses come from all around the region. In 2016 we started our own mobility project and our aim is to continue working on it, while improving it. We have the conviction that in Europe nowadays, a quality vocational education has to contemplate ways to work and live beyond the usual environment of the student. Therefore, our goal is to improve the training of our students through their participation in mobilities to perform work training in a country of the EU. A number of 10 VET students from Restaurant Services and Cookery courses will do 1-month short mobilities in French and Italian companies. Besides, 2 teachers will be also sent to these countries in a 5-day formative training activity. The activities that will be held during the training are the ones established in the official Activity Plans of the their VET course. This project is going to improve the following: -the participants: improvement of the linguistic and working skills. A better labor integration, promotion of the labor mobility and increasing the motivation in learning foreign languages. -the school: improvement of the methodologies used in class, give a more international perspective of education, strengthen the prestige and the image of the institutio, create a net of international contacts and dissemination of the chances that the Erasmus+ program can offer to all our students.

"The ALB.A Project was born and was implemented in a dual context:1) the NATIONAL NETWORK OF TOURISM AND CATERING SCHOOLS (RENAIA), of which the 13 schools involved are members, including the Lead Partner, ISIS ""STRINGHER"", which also holds the Presidency of the Network and which represents the most important association, at national level, of the training offer in the tourism and catering sector;2) the STRATEGIC PLAN OF TOURISM 2017-2022 (PST) of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage which aims to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of the TOURISM SECTOR, supporting the development of the hospitality tourism through the improvement of the quality of the services offered and promoting economic prosperity and social sustainability through the growth of the tourism professions and the creation of new job opportunities.In line with these strategies and objectives, ALB.A Project offered to 130 STUDENTS (of which 28 with special needs) in initial vocational training attending fourth classes and to 79 RECENT GRADUATES of the 13 Tourism and Catering Schools involved, including the Lead Partner, the opportunity to carry out a professional mobility experience lasting, respectively, 1 month and 4 months (ERASMUSPro mobility) in 6 European countries: Malta, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, United Kingdom. These were, in particular, participants who were still attending or had just completed (for no more than one year) an education and vocational path in the tourism sector and who carried out the relevant professional figures during the international mobility experience.ALB.A Project offered, therefore, the young participants an internship experience in foreign companies in their field of study that provided them the opportunity to compare their language skills and acquire specific job skills. The project aimed, in particular, at reconciling the learning outcomes achieved in the education and vocational path with the needs of the labor market in the tourism sector and at enhancing the knowledge of development strategies adopted in the tourism field in other European countries, using the internship experience as a pivotal component of the training path.The general objectives pursued and achieved by the Project are:- the promotion of lifelong learning as a right to develop and update own skills in formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts;- the transparency of learning outcomes and the adherence of training to the needs of companies and professions, facilitating the meeting between supply and demand for work and increasing the competitiveness of the production system;- the usability of qualifications at national and EU level in order to facilitate geographical and professional mobility also with a view to the internationalization of companies and professions.Furthermore, international mobility allowed participants to develop important transversal skills such as: spirit of initiative, ability to adapt and ability to relate and interact in cultural contexts different from their own.Finally, the transparency of learning outcomes in the tourism sector was achieved through the ECVET system and the establishment of a partnership capable of working together on the units of the learning outcomes and the methods of evaluation and validation of the skills acquired by the participants to the international mobility.The following are the impacts achieved:- development of the specialized skills of the target groups involved (209 participants among students attending fourth classes and recent graduates);- creation of innovative training models and tools;- dissemination of results and training models among subjects in the tourism sector and the professional training;- provision of results and training models for VET schools, institutions and professionals in the local/regional territories concerned.The Project can be, therefore, considered exemplary, integrable within the strategic development of each partner of the Consortium, as well as transferable outside, to other organisations, for several reasons:- it created a WORK BASED LEARNING model with a system of actions aimed at specific training, but also at the global growth of each participant. It envisaged the continuous and active involvement of all the figures of the project staff and the supervision by the trainers and company mentors; accompanying and tutoring interventions; teaching methodologies based on involvement, participation, high integration between theory and practice, the development of practical skills that can be immediately used, the validation of acquired skills;- it provided for a system of intermediate and final checks which allowed to monitor the progress in terms of learning achieved by the participants, as well as to evaluate, transfer and validate them."

"BACKGROUND The tourism industry is a key sector of the EU. It is, in fact, over 10% of EU GDP (including the linked industries) and employs 9.7 million people and 1.8 million companies. In our country, the industry has, as a whole, about 191.000 businesses and, on 31st December 2015, 886.000 employees, while in the two regions covered by the project (Sicily and Calabria), between 2015 and the third quarter of 2016, employment in the tourism sector has recorded an average increase compared to 2013-2014, by 3.8% in Sicily and 2.7% in Calabria. The data and projections show, however, on the one hand, the expansion of the sector and the tourist attractiveness of the two regions and, on the other hand, emphasize the need to provide trained young staff, highly qualified and able to respond positively to new and high competence requested by the local labor market. OBJECTIVES In line with the objectives of the EU 2020 Strategy and ET 2020, WORK AWAY offers young participants the opportunity to test and deepen their curricular competencies: professionalism in the specific sector of TOURISM, soft skills, cultural knowledge and language skills. These general objectives are pursued through a mobility experience which consists of an internship abroad of 1 month for 96 STUDENTS attending CLASSES IV and of 3 months for 80 newly graduated of the 8 participating VET Schools (Technical Institutes for Tourism and Hotel and Catering Schools). The project also promotes the exchange and transfer of good practices in VET by relating our VET system with the training and employment system to other European countries and contributes to the consolidation of the ECVET System. ACTIVITY 1. Transversal Activities: management and coordination; Dissemination and exploitation of results; Follow up; 2. Mobility Preparation: Plan of communication and cooperation; Recruitment and selection of participants; preparation of participants; Learning plan definition; 3. Mobility Realization: Internship in the company; Monitoring and tutoring; Project feedback and experience of mobility; Assessment, certification and validation of skills acquired. METHODOLOGY in 4 PHASES 1. MANAGEMENT PLAN AND MONITORING: the project is coordinated by IIS ""Moncada"" in close collaboration with other 16 partners of the Consortium. The Plan is based on the EQAVET quality system and includes specification on: financial arrangements, timing, names of managers / representatives of each organization, responsibilities, roles and tasks, project phases with related milestones, risk management procedures. 2. PLAN OF LEARNING AND EVALUATION: the learning and evaluation plan contains specific references and commitments on transparency and recognition of competences in an ECVET-compatible framework. The documents are: Learning Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The quality of the experience of mobility is controlled through regular evaluation questionnaires filled out by participants, mentors and tutors. 3. PLAN OF COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION: it provides for the involvement of all participants in the partnership with effective tools and rules to maintain a high level of interest on the project. 4. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION: includes phases and methods to be adopted by all partners to disseminate and exploit the project and its results all over the duration and behond. EXPECTED RESULTS a. The development of highly specific and innovative skills in the tourism and catering sector; b. More competitive and greater employment opportunities in the labor market for the participants; c. The development and innovation of VET systems. IMPACT The project includes a significant impact on the VET Systems through: learning outcomes achievement of participants to mobility; skills acquired from the staff involved in the project; recognition of skills in an ECVET-compatible framework. It represents also an added value and development opportunity for the participating organizations, which will consolidate a new training segment to complete the technical and vocational education and answer the demand of enterprises of high professional skills. LONG-TERM BENEFITS In the long term, thanks to the dissemination tools developed and to the size and importance of the consortium, it is expected to have a multiplier effect both regionally, and at national and EU level and the orientation of public policies on the base of the results of the project, using in addition, as a standard model, all procedures and best practices developed within the Project."