"With the Europe 2020 Strategy of the European Commission, one frequently noted critique on the “European Project” was that from a citizen perspective it appeared to be elitist and lacking popular support. Some perceived the activities and organizations around the “Brussels bubble” promoting the European idea for young people to be addressing and reaching only an already well-informed part of young people that are politically interested. We believed that bringing young people together from diverse cultures serves them to learn about each other and allows them to express openly their hitherto hidden capabilities and open European mind. Since 2008 IHKPG and their involved project partners ALFMED (FR), FOYLE INTERNATIONAL (UK) and HERMES (Malta) have been supporting EU VET mobilities in a very high performance and with great European added value. The project idea of Skills#EU started here by using the existing enthusiasm of the trainees to equip them with the skills necessary to motivate and activate their European citizenship. The Skills#EU project was initiated by IHKPG as VET provider and sending organization in DualVET mobility and partner EUROSOC#DIGITAL (E#D). E#D had high expertise in political education with a strong EU focus and an extensive experience in reaching out to those youngsters. Partner Auxilium belonged to IHKPG's network of providers of non-formal education and has gathered considerable expertise in developing approaches and training programmes related to European citizenship and participation. The six project partners were coming from 5 different countries: Germany, Malta, UK, France and Austria. While the German project leader IHK-PG was a further training institution with lots of experiences in sending young people abroad, ALFMED and FOYLE International have been mainly receiving organisations. HERMES from Malta had great experience in both preparing students for their mobilty program as well as welcoming them. EUROSOC#DIGITAL had complemented the partnership by its profound experience in training civic education to youngsters in German schools. In summary the whole partnership was permanently working with a big number of VET learners from different countries and cultures. The overall aim of Skills#EU was to develop and establish a blended-learning training scheme for young VET learners that accompanied them before, during and after their mobility abroad and equiped them with the means to activate a motivated, positive attitude as European citizen. In order to design a training concept tailored to VET trainees we collected data on the state of the art regarding the trainees´ needs and expectations related to various dimensions of social and civic competences, cultural awareness and expression with the aim of ensuring that our project promotes the acquisition of key competences (IO1 Whitepaper “Skills#EU meets VET in European mobility”). Based on this IO1 we developed IO2 “Curriculum Skills#EU, inluding guidelines for trainers and assessment of learning outcomes”. The curriculum was structured by three provided learning modules: M1: Challenges and Opportunities as European citizen; M2: Understanding, negotiation and decision-making; M3: Intercultural communication. Each module contained separate teaching and training material as attractive collection packed in a special “Skills#EU"" training suitcase and additional as online material. This suitcase included instruction cards for teachers, pack of cards, flags, caps, and additional hints on learning material to be used. All material has been tested in piloting and short term training events in order to guarantee highest quality and flexibility in use. More than 1000 VET learners throughout the project consortium with its mobility networks were using the Skills#EU suitcase to better prepare students for their mobility stay.All project material as well as guidelines referring to the respective methodologies are stored on the website www.yourskills.eu and as OER in the EU project results platform VALOR. Our website is linked to our IO6 “European Peer Learning platform Peers#EU”. VET learners in ERASMUS+ mobilities learned a great deal by explaining their ideas to other participants and by taking part in activities in which they could learn from their peers. Go abroad – talk about – and learn from experiences! We built a bridge between VET and policy thus promoting European citizenship, youth participation, cultural diversity within VET mobility. Therefore, the project outcomes were contributing to the development of a European attitude, norms and values. This required a European dialogue which was taking place within the Skills#EU project. The project was innovative because it connected “formalized” VET learners mobility with the informal learning goals of the ""Youth in Action"", a new challenge across sectors. All material is free for use and available both on Moodle and on the Website www.yourskills.eu."

The CHELLIS project aims at providing Challenge-based Environmental Language Learning through Inspiring Stories for adult learners and low-qualified/low-skilled learners. The introduced didactic methodology combines successful existing and well-proven pedagogical techniques in a non-formal and openly accessible digital learning environment that fosters environmental attitudes and language learning and uses a gamified and highly visual storytelling approach. In order to achieve this, a project consortium of suitable and reliable partner organisations from France, Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy have joined together and will produce the following project results:1) The CHELLIS Investigative Field Analysis (IO1) will present insights from a comprehensive desk research and needs specific to the target groups in order to obtain a representative portrait of climate challenges most relevant to certain regions and addressed audiences, enabling the partnership to tailor the two subsequently developed outputs to these particular needs and current demands.2) The CHELLIS Handbook Magazine (IO2) will become a reference instrument for adult education professionals who are specialised in language learning or environmental learning and are working with low-qualified and low-skilled adult learners, migrants/refugees, and adult learners in general. This 60-page handbook magazine will be available as an online flipbook, an e-book and a print publication and will present the CHELLIS methodology in detail as well as offer practice peek video clips with professionals. 3) The CHELLIS Platform (IO3) will be a responsive and highly visual non-formal online learning resource that puts the innovative CHELLIS methodology into practice by offering six interactive story challenges and a transparent validation of learning outcomes. It will simultaneously promote language learning, text comprehension and environmental education and will offer positive learning experiences that have a direct impact on the individual life of learners. Furthermore, complementary activities will be implemented that are crucial for the success and sustainability potential of the project:- The CHELLIS Storytelling Staff Training, which will ensure coherency and high quality of learning contents developed by the partnership.- An open call for artists in order to find suitable professionals who supply the visual elements of the interactive story challenges. As the open call will be widely disseminated, the impact and visibility of the project will be amplified.- National Multiplier Events will be held during the piloting phase of the CHELLIS Platform and engage a large number of adult learners and professionals.Overall, more than 500 participants will be actively involved in the CHELLIS project and more than 200.000 representatives of the following target groups will be reached overall across all partner countries and beyond:- Beneficiaries such as adult learners and low-skilled/low-qualified adult learners as well as migrants/refugees learning the language of the host country; - Professionals such as adult educators and adult trainers, especially in the field of environmental or language learning; - Wider stakeholders such as green NGOs and entrepreneurs, representatives of green industries and careers, experts in the field of environmental learning and language learning, digital artists (who will be engaged for the development of the IO3 illustrations), and the general public.Active participation opportunities as well as extensive dissemination and exploitation efforts of partners through all available communication channels and networks will ensure a broad and sustainable impact of the CHELLIS project on local, regional, national, European and international levels.

The project gathers a set of centres welcoming minors with an intellectual disability (in French under the syndroms called TED and DIP). Our approach applies in the first place to socio- educational educators (youth workers) of our specialized institutions and as a result to our intellectual disabled teenagers. Each partner in Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic, has its own guidance experience with intellectual disabled teenagers in relation to a formative, normative, regulatory, family and cultural context. The project’s aim is to share resources, ideas and inspiration from different contexts and national methods in order to have the capacity to give to the child, teenager, suffering from an intellectual disability the status of European citizen and to support the institutions involved in their effort to opening up and to train their Youth workers.The main objectives are:- To enrich the professional practices of our socio-educational staff, working with young people with an intellectual disability through the sharing and the exchange of good practices in taking over young suffering from DIP and TED (Pervasive Development Disorder and Profound Intellectual Disability)- To promote the quality and the internationalisation of innovative services, pedagogies and practice of youth work by integrating in the project Transational meetings and short mobility, educational workshops between youth workers and teenagers- To reinforce the feeling of belonging, connection with the European citizenship, our goal is to help building Europe for and with vulnerable children. The citizenship provides a feeling of belonging to a community. Our ERASMUS+ project will allow us to check if the European citizen child has the same opportunities, rights and duties in different member countries (France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic). It will allow us to see how to improve the representation that our youth workers have of our public in Europe and how we will work with our teenagers afterwards on this issue.How? :- By transnational meetings in order to exchange good practices of Youth Care Service towards the child, the family and youth activities - By the analysis, in reference to each national context, of the different stages of the Youth Care service for TED and DIP, of the normative context led by national government (kids can go to a specialized school or normal school, assistance by association for outside activities, medical coverage … ) - By the creation of a document regrouping experiences and methods put in common to work out a transferable good practice guide for Youth workers of different centres but also usable by specialized youth workers training centers.- By exchanges including Educators and children short Mobility to participate in exchanges, experiments and educational workshops on our professional practices. In our view it is important to know how our partners organize the Youth Care services for TED and DIP (with or without an Autism Spectrum Disorders). Starting from our respective national context and practices, we can possibly improve and implement new ways of doing it- By the creation of an educational video reviewing experiences and workshops set up during short Mobility, activities sand exchanges done with the TED DIP, the staff, the families of other centres, youth workers- By integrating into our institution strategy these best practices and open-up (website and brochure)

Our goal within the SEPLO project was to simplify the evidencing process for Learning Outcomes, to demystify the framework & make it more accessible to users. It was important that our starting point was the real context that we are working within, rather than the aspirational end goal of ECVET. The SEPLO project collaboratively developed, delivered and disseminated resources to aid those involved in transnational mobility activities to use ECVET to support the achievement of credit bearing learning outcomes (LOs) that contribute directly to lower level vocational qualifications. The partnership comprised organisations from 5 European countries:REY Europe - United Kingdom,Alfmed - France,CELF - Denmark,STICHTING EURICON (Euricon) - Netherlands,European Grants International Academy S.R.L. (EGInA) - Italy.All partners offer structured international work placements that contribute directly to their learners’ vocational course of study, avoiding the need for classroom-based duplication. Our target group was vocational learners, studying qualifications up to level 4. Most learners were young people often from socially or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who may not have previously travelled/studied abroad. Initially a sixth partner from Finland was to be involved, but had to withdraw very early in the project, requiring re-allocation of one of the intellectual outputs.REY Europe led the partnership using its recognised experience of ECVET methodology to build and broaden understanding and strengthen practice of the effective use of ECVET. Partners were identified following a partner mapping exercise following engagement with national ECVET experts and the European ECVET network. Through initial discussions with our partners, it emerged that they faced similar challenges within their national context and we worked together to refine the project approach. Through an in-depth mapping exercise, we gained an insight into the range of approaches to validating work-based learning in different European contexts and an understanding of the challenges/barriers faced by the key actors within transnational mobility activity, in terms of their engagement with ECVET. Each partner consulted a national consortium of representatives from all stakeholder groups to inform the development of our intellectual outputs. Our stakeholder groups were learners, vocational colleges, host organisations and national/regional accrediting bodies. We also examined how the national accrediting bodies correspond to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). It was our intention to design a ‘common Learning Outcomes framework’ that could be applied across our partner countries & beyond. We realised that the countries involved are at different stages of integrating Learning Outcomes & recognising both work-based learning, & transnational mobility as an accredited component of a vocational course. The variability of different approaches made it a challenge to create an overarching framework, so instead we developed a tool that will help shape & guide the process of identifying & developing Learning Outcomes, which can be applied in a range of contexts. Based on our findings, we developed six intellectual outputs (IOs), through which we offer innovative approaches to supporting the key actors to better engage with the ECVET process and understand how their roles are interlinked.The six intellectual outputs and the relevant lead partner were:1. A pedagogical paper covering research into the requirements of the accrediting bodies in each of the partner countries (UK).2. Guidance to the recognition and validation of learning outcomes with examples from the partner countries (IT).3. Resource guide to support college tutors to engage and integrate ECVET into work-based mobility activity (DK/UK).4. A series of training videos to support participants to engage with learning outcomes (NL).5. Guidance to support hosting organisations to engage and implement ECVET process (FR).6. A review of how to make effective use of the European Qualification Framework when implementing ECVET (UK).We have developed resources, which can be used by each stakeholder group, to support the implementation of ECVET and the achievement of credit bearing LOs. Resources are accessible and user friendly, in order to demystify the implementation of ECVET and encourage active engagement with the framework. We believe that the materials produced can be used in a range of European contexts.

The EU has set the ambitious goals to “promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, to find pathways to create new jobs and to offer a sense of direction to our societies” (2010). As the world becomes more interconnected and competitive and as research and technological know-how expands, new opportunities along with more complex societal challenges arise. Overcoming these challenges will require all citizens to have a better understanding of science and technology if they are to participate actively and responsibly in science-informed decision-making and knowledge-based innovation. Furthermore CEDEFOP reported recurrent shortages of STEM related skills in European economy. STEM skills attainment is not confined to higher education level but rather can be acquired through upper and post-secondary school-based VET and also through apprenticeships in several countries. The project “Mobiliteach - In-depth sectoral specialisation of VET teachers” aims at increasing the quality and efficacy of VET provision improving didactics and developing WBL european development strategies. Specifically developing and integrate cross-disciplinary didactics in VET provision and improve VET teachers and managers relevant competences; integrate work based learning mobility experiences in students curricula and improve VET teachers and managers relevant competences; structure collaborative international network among VET providers, mobility experts, education institutions and companies.The partnership is characterised by the presence of VET providers, VET mobility experts and education institutions from 6 countries. The project address mainly VET teachers, managers and administrative staff. It will reach indirectly VET students, business actors, educative institutions, public authorities in the field of education. Methodologies approaches are the main elements of innovation in the project: interdisciplinarity, collegiality and experience based approaches are geared toward the creation of a cross-disciplinary training methodology for teachers. The project will deliver a innovative training prototype designed, tested and developed through 5 international coordination meetings and the joint-staff training events. The training prototype for VET teachers is aimed to be replied in local, regional, national and European after the project end.Specific project results are: a cross-disciplinary training methodology for VET providers will be developed, tested and delivered by the project; teachers increase their knowledge on cross-disciplinary approaches and apply them to their teaching methodologies; managers increase their knowledge on cross-disciplinary courses and integrate them to their school didactics; three training events in which the partners will put together their best practices to develop and test a cross-disciplinary methodology for a training prototype for VET teachers; teachers increase their knowledge on how to plan, organise, manage and evaluate high quality WBL experiences in mobility; managers increase their knowledge on WBL mobility project and integrate them in school programmes and students curricula; developing and test a training methodology interactive and based on experience and reality: teachers and mobility experts staff will be put in places of students when participating in a mobility internship abroad; increased collaboration among VET educational system key actors to improve didactics and students curricula; partners’ internationalisation strategies and european development plans are developed/updated and implemented with the involvement of local network of stakeholders; VET providers staff and mobility experts will put in practice knowledge and competences acquired by producing development strategies after participating in transnational activities and in collaboration with local stakeholders (especially other schools and business actors); innovative forms of cross-disciplinary approaches and WBL in mobility are identified, shared, integrated and tested by participating organisations.The project’s impact at local, regional, national and European level is based on the creation of networks of stakeholders, and the intense dissemination activities foreseen. Every partner will be in charge during the entire length of the project of establishing a network of stakeholders which have interest in improving the quality of VET. This networking process will also be part of the training modules taught in trainings as well as activities carried out in local working groups with stakeholders for the development of participated didactic and internationalisation plans.