"<< Background >>The NET-Heritage project was born and implemented in the context of the project ""RETE SITI UNESCO"" promoted by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, that aimed to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of the UNESCO SITES located in the italian regions SICILY, CAMPANIA, BASILICATA, APULIA and SARDINIA, supporting the development of the tourism, through the improvement of the quality of the tourism services and promoting economic prosperity and social development through the growth of the professions and the creation of new jobs.In line with this national strategy, NET-Heritage project offered to 182 STUDENTS (35 of whom with special needs) in initial vocational training of the fourth year the opportunity to perform a mobility experience of European level of the duration of 30 days. All participants were attending a vocational and training path in the field of tourism services and carried out a relevant professional work experience abroad, to align the learning outcomes achieved in the education and training path with the needs of the labor market in the field of promotion and management of tourism, by using the international internship experience as a fundamental part of the training.<< Objectives >>The general objectives of the project have been:- Promote lifelong learning as a right of the persons to increase and update their skills, abilities and knowledge in formal, non formal and informal learning contexts;- Promote the transparency of learning and compliance training to the needs of businesses and professions in order to facilitate the meeting between demand and supply of labor and increase the productivity and competitiveness of the production system;- Enlarge the marketability of qualifications at national and European level in order to facilitate geographical and occupational mobility also in terms of the internationalization of businesses and professions.The carried out mobility experiences increased also the soft skills of the participants, such as spirit of initiative, adaptability and ability to relate and interact with cultural backgrounds different from their own.The transparency of learning in the tourism sector guaranteed, finally, through ECVET and the establishment of a partnership able to work on mutual understanding on units of learning outcomes and method of evaluation, validation and recognition of knowledge, skills and competencies achieved by participants in the international mobility.<< Implementation >>The NET-Heritage project was integrated into the strategic development of each partner of the National Consortium, as well as was transfered outside of it and was implemented in an international context of WORK BASED LEARNING with a system of actions aimed at specific training, but also at the global growth of each participant.In details, the Net-Heritage project provided:- Continuous and active involvement of all the figures of the project staff and teh supervision of project trainers and mentors;- Activities of support and mentoring; - Teaching and training methods based on the involvement, participation, the high integration between theory and practice, the development of practical skills immediately spendable, the validation of acquired skills;- A system of mid-term and final evaluations to monitor the progress in terms of learning achieved by the participants, as well as its evaluation, validation and certification through the ECVET procedures (European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training).<< Results >>The achieved impacts of the NET-Heritage project have been:- The development of specialized skills of the target groups involved (182 young students);- Set up of training models and tools of innovative value;- Diffusion of results and training models among the stakeholders of the tourism and cultural sector concerned and the Vocational Education and Training systems at local, national and European level;- Availability of the results and training models of the Net-Heritage project for the institutions and the professionals at local and regional level.The NET-Heritage project helped to stimulate the development of a process of innovation in the tourism and cultural sector related to UNESCO SITES in the project partner regions thanks to the opportunity - for the companies - to recruit 182 young people trained in similar companies abroad with EU-wide competences related to new marketing-oriented approaches and innovative methodologies for the promotion of cultural tourism plans."