OPortunities through European Networking Erasmus Project

Project Title

OPortunities through European Networking

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

The projet aims to EMPLOYMENT, SELF EMPLOYMENT and the use of interesting international NETWORKS. To foster employability in SMEs across Europe, LANGUAGE AND IT SKILLS are vital, as are self confidence and a spirit of entrepreneurship.
Bearing in mind the current economical environment, all the centres have pointed out the lack of support and have decided there is a common need to provide information and encouragement to help their students GAIN ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT either at home or abroad, or aid their students in SETTING UP THEIR OWN BUSINESS and creating self employment.
Six training centres or language schools have worked together in six different European countries (France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands) so that their language teachers and adult learners can study and compare :
– how and why people have successfully found a job through talks with students they have trained who have been recently employed,
– how to set up one’s own business : exchange of creative and special ideas, or best practice for getting a foot in the door in another member country (what is promising, what is not working), through talks with targeted people,
– how to reduce obstacles (inhibition thresholds and real challenges),
in order to provide their students with help and support.
Within 3 years they have met in turn in every country with 2 teachers and 6 language learners from every country each time for 5 days and interviewed key speakers from local SMEs and organisations connected to employment. They have also contacted the local Chambers of Commerce (and/or Chambers of industry and Craft, Chambers of Agriculture, local authorities), special organisations providing support to young people, job seekers, women, and/or any people desiring to set up their own business.
The common work during the visits consisted in :
– having language activities so that people can feel confident with a foreign language in real situations,
– performing and filming interviews from former students who have found employment (in their country or abroad), people who have set up their own business and managers of companies talking about what skills they are looking for,
– writing reports of the interviews and have them translated into the other national languages by the students,
– creating and maintaining a website in in the the 6 languages of the countries visited, gathering all the information collected, the contacts of the participants, advices and reports on good practices.
The learners were in charge of filming the interviews, writing a report in English after each visit and translate them in their own language. Each national coordinator (a teacher) monitored the workload for his/her country and ensured that everything was carried out in their national language, and the general coordinator (a teacher) monitored the total project, ensuring that with every visit, the correponding tasks have been carried out and uploaded on the website.
The expected impact of such a project is :
For teachers :
– The website and social networks used will be kept alive beyond the lifetime of the project to be part of their teaching tools,
– the videos and the website will be used in class, and will help them to answer calls for special training sessions, highlighting the further use of the tools they have created,
– they now have a better knowledge of different local backgrounds throughout Europe,
– they have the opportunity to teach a foreign language in real situations and bring their students not only to the country of the language they study but also to a professional environment with real job or business creation opportunities.
– they are in a position to bring information about the European job market through real examples in different European countries,
– they have enlarged their personal and professional contacts networks throughout Europe.
For learners :
– Their confidence in language and IT skills is increased
– The business aspects of language skills are enhanced
– People are encouraged to think about starting their own business, mobility chances to use their skills (in their own or a European member country), opportunities offered by a liberated European market with free movement of people,
– They have created genuine contacts and frienships which will enable them to think of the opportunity of really moving to work abroad.
For other stakeholders :
– Professional organisations now benefit from a direct link with teachers and learners, they have a better knowledge of the way people are trained in the framework of further education and vocational training.
– They develop a network of contacts abroad with schools and students, as well as with other SMEs, sharing sometimes the same type of activity.
Students and teachers will now go on working with the website created, they will go on consulting it and interacting with in order to share their own experience, their decision to go abroad for professional purposes.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 359243,1 Eur

Project Coordinator

Lycee Général et Technologique Agricole Etienne Munier & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board
• Berufliche Fortbildungszentren der Bayerischen Wirtschaft (bfz) gGmbH
• ISTITUTO ISTRUZIONE SUPERIORE “GIOVANNI FALCONE”
• EOI Raimundo de Toledo
• Stichting Rotterdamse Volksuniversiteit