This is a 2 year project, during which time we plan to send 172 learners on vocational placements in Seville, Crete and Prague. Placements will be 3-6 weeks long, with the exact length of stay determined by the lead tutor for each vocational area. We feel this is sufficient time for students to adjust to work and life in another country, meaningfully gain from the experience and achieve tangible learning outcomes. The destination for each student will be determined by their vocational area and the placements available. Students will be selected from the following departments: Business, Beauty, Travel & Tourism, Sport (Football), Catering and Computing. Our project objectives are - to provide European work placement opportunities to students across a range of vocational sectors - to build on the success of our 2016 mobility project, develop our internal project delivery capacity, and expand our work to offer more students international opportunities - to enable students to apply the theoretical learning acquired on their course in a structured and sector specific work setting - to enable students to develop soft skills & professional competences - to show them different perspectives & practices in a work setting. To promote cross-cultural working and ultimately, broaden their horizons We aim to make our students highly employable and enterprising by developing the skills employers want. The project will enhance our students' learning experience and increase their employability. The placements are framed by a supportive pre, during & post placement structure, with group training and individual support offered in order to fully prepare students for the placement, and provide a debrief and careers guidance on how to maximize their learning on their return. The models of support that we offer our learners will be tailored to their individual needs, recognising that support needs will differ between participants and at different points in the project. Each group will be joined by an accompanying staff member from the College and will have a designated placement supervisor, as well as local partner support. The participants for this mobility will all be students at Bath College, studying up to Level 3 in one of the following vocational areas: Beauty (Level 3), Business (Level 3), Catering (Level 2), Computing (Level 3), Football (Level 3) Travel & Tourism (Level 3). Our tutors have strong existing relationships with learners and a good working knowledge of how best to engage and retain them, and design a project that is responsive to their needs. Learner needs are: - To gain sector specific practical work experience and apply the technical skills and theoretical knowledge they have acquired through their course in a practical setting - To develop their soft skills (such as self assurance, adaptability, communication) and their language competences - To provide participants with international experience, pushing them out of their comfort zone in a supportive environment Ultimately we hope this will put them in a stronger position to gain employment in the sector on completion of their course. In order to have a competitive edge in the labour market, we know that students need to develop personal competences such as team work, confidence and adaptability. We hope the mobility will increase their aspirations for a career in the sector. Learners will develop the confidence to interact in a foreign language setting, an understanding of the sector at European level & insight in to how organisations operate in a different cultural context. In the long term, we hope the mobility will contribute to positive onward progression and raised aspirations amongst our learners. The mobility provides a structured employment experience, with a line manager and a clear set of tasks and guidance, support learners to engage in a 'real' work setting and develop realistic expectations of the working world. The mobility placement will be explicitly linked to learners' course of study. Placement activities will correspond to the specific course units, which gives them the opportunity to enhance their course learning and understand the experience of a work environment. Host Organisations (HOs)will offer placements with activities relevant to the learners’ course of study. Each tutor will identify learning outcomes (LOs) that can realistically be achieved by learners whilst on placement. The LOs will differ between participants and will relate to both the specific qualification that they are working towards in the UK and the role descriptions available. The mobility project enables the College to enhance our curriculum offer, and put our learners in a stronger position to progress after they graduate. It has improved course delivery, learner engagement and performance. The mobility is an opportunity to strengthen our international networks and consolidate some of our aims for internationalisation.