VET READY 4 MOBILITY

• Project name: VET READY 4 MOBILITY

• Project number: 2024-1-FR01-KA220-VET-000254972

• Duration: 01/11/2024 – 30/04/2027

• Project website: available soon

Climate change and environmental degradation constitute an existential threat to Europe and the rest of the world. Therefore, international efforts are being made at political level to address this challenge and mitigate its consequences, with actions such as environmental labels for sustainable schools. However, these labels do not address the specific nature of VET schools devoted to the HoReCa sector, which require specialised training and special sustainable certification.

The ECO-TAG project focuses on this specific challenge, through the point of view of VET schools devoted to cooking, gastronomy, culinary arts, kitchen management and catering services. It will work to address their environmental impact and their relationship with the food sector. This will allow the generation of specific and general sustainable competences (with the European sustainability framework «Green Comp» as a basis), change behaviours and thus reduce the carbon footprint.

VR4M project builds on the success of our previous Mobilitimeline project, developed in collaboration with VET centres in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Spain, all actively engaged in mobility initiatives. The Mobilitimeline project allowed us to create online tools to streamline and enhance the pedagogical and administrative support for European mobility projects, benefiting both learners and mobility coordinators.

However, we recognize the vital role hosting organisations (companies and VET schools) play in the vocational training of learners and the challenges they face. Hosting organisations need adequate tools to support and monitor learners effectively before, during, and after their mobility experiences. Additionally, learners often struggle to adapt to life in a new city or country, facing difficulties with practical aspects such as accommodation and local logistics.

Through our experiences as both sending and hosting organisations, we have identified several key challenges:

• Hosting a learner can be overwhelming for companies or VET schools that lack the resources and tools necessary to integrate them.
• Hosting organisations face difficulties in accessing information and providing quality support across all stages of mobility.
• Learners often receive training on workplace safety rules, which is mandatory in some countries like Italy or Germany, but they lack access to specific safety guidelines tailored to international professional mobility.
• Learners encounter significant challenges in finding practical information, such as accommodation, transportation, and other logistical needs in the host city.
• Former learners with successful mobility experiences are not formally engaged as ambassadors or listed as potential contacts for future mobility participants, missing an opportunity to strengthen networks.

To address these challenges, our project aims to exchange good practices and implement the following solutions:

• Develop an online preparation training program to provide hosting organisations with structured and effective tools for integrating foreign learners.
• Create a digital platform incorporating a comprehensive timeline with relevant resources to support hosting organisations throughout the mobility process—before, during, and after the learner’s stay.
• Establish a digital map that identifies potential hosting organisations, leveraging a network of VET mobility alumni, complete with a contact list.
• Design online training modules to educate VET participants on essential rules and safety measures required during international mobility.
• Develop a digital installation kit to assist VET learners with practical information about host cities, covering accommodation, transport, and other logistical needs.

By addressing these gaps, the project aims to strengthen the support for hosting organisations, improve the mobility experience for learners, and foster a more connected and sustainable VET mobility ecosystem.