"The project ""VETRINA TOSCANA IN EUROPA: Azioni di mobilità per lo sviluppo delle competenze nel settoreenogastronomico"" (VET-EU) aimed to connect the objectives of the Tuscany Regional Authority Programme ""VETRINATOSCANA"" (Network of enhancement of the typical Tuscan products that involve different economic and institutional actors)to a mobility experience in Europe to 80 young graduates from five Tourism and Catering VET Schools based in Tuscany.The project was leaded by Mentore di ConfCommercio Toscana in cooperation with an articulated partnership of local actors(Tourism and Catering VET Schools, Tuscany Regional Authority, UnionCamere Toscana, ConfCommercio Toscana,CIPAT-Consorzio Istituti Professionali Associati Toscani) and a wide number of European hosting partners.“VET-EU” aimed to offer to the 80 young participants a great opportunity to became highly qualified in a European contextand provide high quality services to the tourism and catering sector by performing a 3-months mobility experience in fiveEuropean Countries: Malta, Spain, Portugal, France and the United Kingdom. All participants were selected from the targetgroup who already participated in the training activities of the Regional project “SCUOLE VETRINA TOSCANA”(sub-programme of “VETRINA TOSCANA”) that, only in 2013 and 2014, involved more than 500 students. “VET-EU”, in fact,aimed to complete with a EU mobility experience the training path of a target of participants, who, having acquiredcompetences and skills of cooking and culinary art in VET School context, carried out also an intra-curriculum training pathon the valorization of the characteristic of the local products of the Tuscany Region.Participants, after their selection carried out by the five Tourism and Catering VET schools (sending partners of the project),received an intercultural preparation as well as being stimulated to self-study on the hosting country, in order to improve theirlanguage skills and to actively participate throughout the European path. The preparation, therefore, involvedmulti-disciplinary pedagogical, linguistic and cultural preparation aimed to provide information, even of a practical nature,including various aspects of an internship abroad as well as knowledge and skills useful to a full integration into the contextof the hosting country (e.g. highlights on the cultural aspects of the host country, lifestyles and working conditions). Thetraining and learning programme abroad included an internship in selected companies in the tourism and catering sector, toacquire knowledge and skills within the sectors and compare the various professional techniques, and activities aimed at theinclusion and integration in the context and for the improvement of language skills and to better know the culture of thehosting country. The main results from the project included: the rise of the personal and professional skills of the learners,and the promotion of key competencies related to the real exercise of active citizenship; increasing the employment potentialof the participants, the introduction of innovative training methods as a complement to existing practices and pathways andthe improvement of the educational level of technical and vocational schools, the development of relations between thetransnational partners and the promotion of processes of cooperation and exchange of good practices between the partnersinvolved, with a significant impact in improving the educational and vocational guidance.The Consortium, with this project, therefore, aimed to give momentum to the internationalization of institutional relations andcooperation at European level. The opportunities for economic and social growth cannot be separated from the desire tocreate strong interdependence and synergy between educational and training institutions and strong partnerships with localand foreign business realities. The project was, besides, implemented in an European context considering the Europeanpriority and thematic approached such as ""ECVET for transparency and recognition of learning outcomes and qualifications"".The development of ECVET began in 2002 after the Copenhagen Process emphasizing the need for a credit transfer systemfor VET. “VET-EU” was a project based on the concrete responses to the questions of developing ECVET in the Europeanmember States and corresponding to the 2009 EU Recommendations on the establishment of the European Credit systemfor VET. The project worked, in particular, to realise a European area for Lifelong Learning in the Tourism and Cateringsector. The whole activities were implemented by regarding a strong European perspective which was reflected in all projectactivities and results. The project aimed to increase the knowledge of ECVET and its technical specifications and ensuringthat the added value of ECVET was understood and perceived inside and outside the partnership."