Call: Short-term projects for mobility of learners and staff in vocational education and training

Actions supported under the Key Action 1 are expected to bring positive and long-lasting effects on the participants and participating organisations involved, as well as on the policy systems in which such activities are framed.

As regards students, trainees, apprentices, adult learners, pupils and young people, the mobility activities supported under this Key Action are meant to produce the main following outcomes:

• enhanced employability and improved career prospects;
• increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship;
• increased self-empowerment and self-esteem;
• improved foreign language and digital competences;
• enhanced intercultural awareness;
• more active participation in democratic life and in society in general;
• better awareness of the European project and the EU common values;
• increased motivation for taking part in future (formal/non-formal) education or training after the mobility period abroad.

As regards staff, youth workers and professionals involved in education, training and youth, the mobility activities are expected to produce the following outcomes:

• improved competences, linked to their professional profiles;
• broader understanding of practices, policies and systems in education/learning, training or youth across countries;
• greater understanding of interconnections between formal and non-formal education/learning, vocational training and the labour market respectively;
• greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity;
• increased ability to address the needs of youth with fewer opportunities;
• increased opportunities for professional and career development;
• improved foreign language and digital competences;
• increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work.

Activities supported under this Action are also expected to produce one or more of the following outcomes on participating organisations:

• increased capacity to operate at EU/international level: improved management skills and internationalisation strategies; reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries; increased allocation of financial resources (other than EU funds) to organise EU/international projects; increased quality in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and follow up of EU/international projects;
• innovative and improved way of operating towards their target groups, by providing for example: more attractive programmes for students, trainees, apprentices, young people and volunteers in line with their needs and expectations; improved qualifications of teaching and training staff; improved processes of recognition and validation of competences gained during learning periods abroad; more effective activities for the benefit of local communities, improved youth work methods and practices to actively involve young people and/or to address disadvantaged groups, etc.;
• more modern, dynamic, committed and professional environment inside the organisation: ready to integrate good practices and new methods into daily activities; open to synergies with organisations active in different social, educational and employment fields; planning strategically the professional development of their staff in relation to individual needs and organisational objectives; if relevant, capable of attracting excellent students and academic staff from all over the world.

What is a Mobility Project?

Organisations active in the fields of education, training and youth will receive support from the Erasmus+ Programme to carry out projects promoting different types of mobility. A mobility project will consist of the following stages:

• Planning (including defining the learning outcomes, activity formats, development of work programme, schedule of activities)
• Preparation (including practical arrangements, selection of participants, set up of agreements with partners and participants, linguistic/intercultural/learning- and task-related preparation of participants before departure);
• Implementation of the mobility activities;
• Follow-up (including the evaluation of the activities, the validation and formal recognition - where applicable - of the learning outcomes of participants during the activity, as well as the dissemination and use of the project's outcomes).

The Erasmus+ Programme reinforces the support offered to the participants of mobility activities in improving their foreign language competences before and during their stay abroad, including additional linguistic support grant for participants in long term mobility in vocational education and training (VET) and school education fields. An Erasmus+ Online Language Support (OLS) service provides the participants in mobility activities with the opportunity to assess their knowledge of two languages as well as to follow online language courses to improve their competences. In addition to online language courses, the OLS will provide several other features such as assisted and blended learning tools to enable teachers and youth workers to provide extra support to their learners and social networking feature to enable collaborative learning.
Furthermore, Erasmus+ offers space for developing mobility activities that involve partner organisations with different backgrounds and active in different fields or socio-economic sectors (e.g. traineeships of university students or VET learners in enterprises, NGOs, public bodies; teachers in schools following professional development courses in companies or training centres; business experts giving lectures or training in higher education institutions, etc.).
A third important element of innovation and quality of mobility activities is that Erasmus+ participating organisations have the possibility to organise mobility activities within a broader strategic framework and in the medium term.

Accreditation schemes play an important role in ensuring high impact of Key Action 1. The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, the Erasmus accreditation for higher education mobility consortia and the Erasmus accreditations in the fields of VET, school education, adult education, and youth allow organisations to benefit from Key Action 1 on a continuous basis, letting them focus on longer-term objectives and institutional impact.

Depending on the profile of participants involved, the following types of mobility projects are supported under Key Action 1 of the Erasmus+ Programme:

In the field of Education and Training:

• Mobility project for higher education students and staff;
• Mobility project for VET learners and staff;
• Mobility project for school pupils and staff;
• Mobility project for adult education learners and staff.

In the field of Youth:

• Mobility projects for young people - Youth exchanges
• Mobility projects for youth workers
• Youth participation activities

This action supports providers of vocational education and training (VET) and other organisations active in the field of VET that want to organise learning mobility activities for VET learners and staff.

A wide range of activities are supported, including job shadowing and professional development courses for staff, traineeships and long-term placements (ErasmusPro), invited experts, and other activities as explained below.

The participating organisations should actively promote inclusion and diversity, environmental sustainability and digital education through their activities: by using the specific funding opportunities provided by the Programme for these purposes, by raising awareness among their participants, by sharing best practices, and by choosing appropriate design for their activities.

Objectives of the Action

The purpose of mobility activities funded by Erasmus+ is to provide learning opportunities to individuals and to support internationalisation and institutional development of VET providers and other organisations in vocational education and training. The action will support the implementation of the Council Recommendation on vocational education and training and the Osnabrück Declaration, and the European Skills Agenda. It will also contribute to the creation of the European Education Area. Specifically, the objectives of this action are:

Increasing the quality of initial and continuing vocational education and training (IVET and CVET) in Europe by:

• strengthening key competences and transversal skills, in particular language learning
• supporting the development of job specific skills needed in the current and future labour market
• sharing best practices and promoting the use of new and innovative pedagogical methods and technologies, and supporting the professional development of teachers, trainers, mentors and other staff in VET
• building the capacity of VET providers to carry out high quality mobility projects, and their ability to form quality partnerships while developing their internationalisation strategy
• making mobility a realistic possibility for any learner in IVET and CVET, and increasing the average duration of mobility for VET learners to increase its quality and impact
• fostering the quality, transparency and recognition of learning outcomes of mobility periods abroad, especially by using European tools and instruments.

Strengthening the European dimension of teaching and learning by:

• promoting values of inclusion and diversity, tolerance, and democratic participation
• promoting knowledge about shared European heritage and diversity
• supporting development of professional networks across Europe

The following organisations are eligible to apply:

• Organisations providing initial or continuing vocational education and training
• Local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of vocational education and training
• Companies and other public or private organisations hosting, training or otherwise working with learners and apprentices in vocational education and training

However, organisations holding an Erasmus accreditation in vocational education and training cannot apply for short-term projects.

Online application at: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/app-forms/af-ui-opportunities/#/erasmus-plus/open-calls/key-action/43353406

A model application form is avaiable at: Short-term projects for mobility of learners and staff in vocational education and training (KA122-VET)

European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) - https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/index_en

Since 2006, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency has been a catalyst for projects in education, training, youth, sport, audiovisual, culture, citizenship and humanitarian aid. On behalf of the European Commission, EACEA strives to foster innovation in these areas, always in a spirit of cross-border cooperation and mutual respect.

EACEA are project managers, facilitators of knowledge exchange, and supporters of European projects that connect people and cultures.

National Agencies

To bring Erasmus+ as close as possible to the participants and make sure it works well across different countries, the EU works with National Agencies to manage the programme.

The National Agencies are based in Programme Countries and their role involves

• providing information on Erasmus+
• selecting projects to be funded
• monitoring and evaluating Erasmus+
• supporting applicants and participants
• working with other National Agencies and the EU
• promoting Erasmus+
• sharing success stories and best practices

The list of National Agencies can be found here. Countries not in the list of Programme countries may alternately have a National Erasmus+ Office.

National Erasmus+ Offices

National Erasmus+ Offices (NEOs) assist the European Commission and local authorities in the implementation of Erasmus+ in certain Partner Countries.

These countries are located in the Western Balkans, the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean and Central Asia. Russia also has a National Office.

Providing information on Erasmus+, monitoring and evaluating funded projects, assisting applicants and participants, supporting policy dialogue and maintaining contact with local authorities and EU Delegations are among the responsibilities of the NEOs.