The need to improve the quality and relevance of the skills and competences with which young Europeans leave schools has been recognized at EU and national level. The labor market is really hard to reach, especially for young people, as they are not adequately prepared to enter the world of work, lacking not only experience and knowledge, but also basic key competences. This affects tertiary level students not that much as it effects secondary level VET learners, who upon graduation, if not continuing studies for acquiring higher education, are about to enter the world of work. Today, having increased competition within labor markets and with increasing impact of ICT, employers need not only practically-skilled employees, but resilient, multi-skilled, good communicators, who understand how to work as part of a team, being able to sufficiently communicate in foreign languages, especially English. VET schools not only need to carry out their standard, practically-oriented educational programmes, but to help their learners to develop also the other skills needed for the competitive labor market, which are inalienable attributes of todays best employees. Within the project, the three partner institutions from Latvia (Liepaja Marine College), Germany (Berufliche Schule des Kreises Nordfriesland in Husum) and Italy (IIS BARSANTI MASSA) came together to address the above described problem and united their forces to enhance future employability of their vocational secondary education programmes’ learners of the latter courses (aged 17-20), as well as to master to them the key competences – especially, skills of communication in foreign languages; digital competences; social and civic competences; sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; cultural awareness and expression. The main objective of the project was to enhance employability and master the other job related skills to VET learners, that are not sufficiently covered by the VET programmes provided to them.Another important aim of the project was to improve the English language skills of the learners, for this reason all the activities were carried out in English, actively involving the participants. The project included 3 blended mobilities with intensive and informative curriculum tended to develop key competences. In total, 60 secondary vocational education learners and 12 accompanying persons had the opportunity to visit other European countries and schools to learn more about the different cultures and get acquainted with the labor market and job opportunities in other countries, gaining the opportunity to reinforce the sense of European belonging and awareness of the Community.The training was combined with educational and inspirational visits to companies and institutions, seeking to promote initiative and entrepreneurial spirit among the learners of VET. Involvement of entrepreneurs in education is essential.The results of the project are positive and the desired objectives have been achieved. The participants have widened their horizons, practiced their English skills and become more open, the young people are more involved in school life and want to participate in similar projects, have made new friends abroad. In order to determine the impact of the project on the participants individually, the participants received and completed the evaluation surveys. According to the participants, it can be concluded that the interest of the participants in entrepreneurship has grown - it is considered as a career option, the project improved their team work skills, communication skills in a foreign language, self-representation skills, educated the participants on the importance of digital competences in the modern education and work environment. Participants point out that an active learning approach with games and discussions is more effective than listening to lectures. As a result of the project, the partners found further common interests and continue their cooperation. New joint project has been submitted as a logical continuation of the ongoing work. The accompanying persons say that the experience of mobility has inspired them to modernize and diversify their teaching approach.The institutions involved have gained new partners, promoted the recognizability of themselves and their region's abroad. The partners hope to inspire other similar institutions to implement similar projects.

"Education for entrepreneurship can be particularly effective in initial vocational training, as students are close to entering working life and self-employment may be a valuable option for them. Entrepreneurship is included in the national curricula for vocational education in a majority of European countries, at least to some extent. However programmes and activities included in those figures may differ greatly in intensity and effectiveness. In any case, there is in general a perception that there is still a gap to be filled. Some major reasons for the gap identified are the following: (1) entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system; (2) student participation is limited; (3) teaching methods are ineffective; (4) the practical element of entrepreneurship is missing; (5) teachers are not fully competent; (6) entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions; (7) business people are not sufficiently involved. Despite some encouraging data, it appears that the uptake and the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in European vocational schools are still far from being fully satisfactory. The partners of the present project to a larger or smaller extent observe the majority of the above mentioned drawbacks in their curricula, especially in relation to the technically-oriented programs. It has been proved, that regardless of the vocational training area, the most effective way to teach entrepreneurship is to have students participate in practical projects and activities, in which learning by doing is emphasized and real experience with entrepreneurship is gained. Problem-driven and experience-oriented education is essential to fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and abilities.The present Erasmus+ strategic partnership project titled ""Meaningful Entrepreneurial Mindsets. Ideas to Actions"" (MEM: Ideas to Actions) has 4 partners, 3 of which are secondary VET institutions providing educational programmes in different areas and the 4th is a non-governmental organization also engaged in VET activities. The project joins forces of Latvia - Liepājas Jūrniecības koledža, Germany - Berufliche Schule des Kreises Nordfriesland in Husum, Turkey - Ulusoy Denizcilik Teknolojisi MTAL and Cyprus - DOREA Educational Institute. Through projects learning activities for learners and staff, as well as through the developed intellectual results, and an international conference at the end of the project the partners hope to increase the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship among the players of the VET sector and promote education for entrepreneurship. The partners will commonly develop an educational online platform, which will include an introductory course about starting a business in English aimed at secondary-level VET learners. This educational platform and the online course incorporated within it will be a starter-pack to creating a businesses. It will cover a progression of topics necessary for successful business creation. The WEB platform will have several sections., e.g. 1. Project description; 2. Online course – freely available to the general public; 3. Success Stories – interviews with young businesses; 4. Video lectures; 5. Interactive map of support providing organization, and other sections devoted to business development and implementation, and more.The aims of the present project , amongst others, are developing those personal attributes and generally applicable skills that form the basis of an entrepreneurial mindset and behavior, raising students’ awareness of self-employment and entrepreneurship as possible career options, boosting entrepreneurship in education through creation of an attractive teaching and learning tool, and providing specific business skills and knowledge of how to start and successfully run a business."