for VET Centres
for VET Centres
for VET Centres
Introduction
An ERASMUS+ project requires thorough planning. VET centres interested in developing projects need to apply for Erasmus+ grants. Erasmus+ 2021-2027 stipulates two ways of obtaining the grants:
1) Professional accreditation
2) Short application forms (30 mobilities at the most). For helpful information on how to apply, contact your country’s National Agency. (Every country will facilitate a link where partners can get information about the Erasmus+ application procedure)
This guide is mainly intended to help organisations new to Erasmus+ in planning for Erasmus+ mobility projects. Participants in these projects benefit hugely from these experiences and we encourage you to become a new member of this wonderful adventure, Erasmus+, and organise an exchange with other VET Centres!
You can DOWNLOAD this guide for FREE from here (English version – PDF format) or choose another language:
| German version | French version | Greek version |
| Spanish version | Romanian version | Portuguese version |
Also you can download a PDF document from here with information regarding vocational training studies in partners countries.
You will need to find European VET centres willing to be partners in your project. These are called receiving organisations in Erasmus+ projects.
The guide is presented in three steps:
Stage 1
Find a partner
The ERASMOBILITY platform helps you to find receiving organisations by providing access to a database of VET centres across Europe with contact details and profiles. The organisations listed on the platform are willing to take part in mobility projects.
Prepare an email
Prepare an email with a short introduction to your centre as well as your experience of Erasmus+ mobilities. You will be ready to contact potential partners through the ERASMOBILITY platform.
Email content
Ideally, the first email should specify:
· The speciality that you wish to work on (e.g. Engineering, Health & Social Care)
· The number of participants.
· The duration of the mobility.
· Whether you’re looking for work placements or training opportunities.
Top tip:
Arrange a video call as soon as possible. You will be better able to strengthen the personal relationship through a video call rather than an anonymous email. Another option is to arrange a visit or even organise a period of job shadowing beforehand. Provide links to your website and your Erasmus+ experiences so that your future partner.
Stage 2
Prepare the exchange
In this section, we will provide you with advice about what you need to discuss with your future partner so that you are both clear, from the start, about your plans.
1
Tempus Fugit!: Schedule everything right from the start
Use a calendar to set possible departure and arrival dates. Remember to be flexible. The length and timing of internships vary greatly from one country to another. Also, you have to consider holiday periods in different countries.
The EU Evaluators will positively assess your application form if you are able to highlight that you have already agreed on mobility timings.
2
Do not give up just because there are differences!: Compare training programmes.
When two VET centres start working together for the first time, both of them must be open to finding out about their partner’s educational offer.
It is not necessary for the curricula of the two countries to match perfectly, it is about finding out what you have in common. Finding your similarities is the key to organising common training activities to improve your Erasmus+ project.
“It is not our differences that divide us, but our inability to accept them”
Audre Lorde
In the CEDEFOP web page, you’ll find information about The European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
3
Don’t forget the paperwork!: Mobility documents.
Once you have agreed the practical content of the mobility, you need to make sure that you complete the relevant Erasmus+ paperwork.
There are template agreements that are sent out with the Erasmus+ grant agreement in every country.
It is essential that the learning agreements are signed before the start of the mobility. You should use the Europass Mobility in this section. This is a document that serves to formally accredit the mobility periods of participants and staff.
Also, using the Europass CV is a helpful way to introduce your students to your partner.
4
Your future depends on your dreams, so go to sleep!: Accommodation.
It is crucial to address one of the most complicated issues concerning a mobility. This can sometimes be even harder to agree on than a training programme. The receiving organisation’s commitment to helping with appropriate accommodation is essential.
We would like to emphasise the importance of promoting, among other accommodation options, stays with host families from the VET centres themselves. This leads to a true cultural integration of participants and staff and this needs to be discussed by the partners well in advance of the mobilities.
Important issues to consider are...
What will the host family be paid; is there a need for an invoice with VAT included; for example.
Visit the Lingoo web page
Lingoo is a partner in this project and has helped us to better understand the concept of a ‘host family’.
5
Appoint a Mentor
A named mentor in the receiving organization is very important and ensures that the participant is supported during his mobility. The mentor will be responsible for integrating the participants and staff in the destination country.
““Apprenticeship is all about being tutored by those who have trod the path we desire to tread”
6
Build bridges, not walls: Cultural Activities
Cultural and integration activities are an essential part of Erasmus+ projects as they provide unique opportunities for improving cultural awareness across different EU countries and promoting the concept of European citizenship. Collaborating on a project with another European VET centre will allow you to organise activities for your participants:
A
The activities should be coordinated by the sending and the receiving organisations in order to foster cultural exchange between the participants involved in the mobility.
B
It is important to develop a strategy that allows participants to carry out activities at the receiving organisation so that they can interact with their peers.
C
Encourage the local business community to get involved in these activities so that they see the benefits of this on the participants.
If these activities are organised at the beginning of the mobility, they’ll really help participants to integrate.
7
Be present, be relevant and add value: Dissemination
From the very start of a project, it is important that the two partners agree on the dissemination activities.
These could include:
· Social media posts on the social networks of both cooperating organisations. .Pay attention to data protection regulations and make sure that written consent has been obtained from the participants for photos. In any case, it should be possible to publish the Erasmus+ experience via the homepage of your school. Press and radio news.
· Award of participation certificates to the participants.
8
Let me introduce myself : The Curriculum Vitae
It is recommended that both organisations share the CVs of the participants well in advance.
This helps the receiving organisations to get to know the students they will receive.
Top tip:
To strengthen European identity and to make clear that Erasmus+ is a European Programme, use the Europass CV template.
9
The Earth is what we all have in common:Environmentally friendly mobilities.
Wherever possible, we should consider environmentally friendly mobilities.
Consider using less polluting means of transportation, or pilot a paperless mobility.
Agree on an environmental measure with your partner and include it in the Erasmus+ application form.
Stage 3
During and after the exchange
During the exchange
You have to make sure that you:
Establish a communication channel with your students and agree on how often you are going to keep in touch.
Create a diary, where the students can evidence the professional skills they are acquiring as well as the issues they are facing during the mobility.
Check that the evaluation documents have been filled out correctly.
Share a space where students can upload photos and videos of their Erasmus+ experience.
After the exchange
Do not forget to:
Check that the students complete their participant reports and the language tests.
Encourage students to write short summaries of their mobility experiences and post them on your centre’s social media platforms.
Issue Europass mobility documents and recognition diplomas.
Links
that might be interesting for your exchange
STAGE 2: PREPARE THE EXCHANGE
· Schedule everything right from the start: https://nuudel.digitalcourage.de/
You can create polls to arrange meetings or to create simple surveys here. The free software used is called Framadate. This server runs on our own hardware and does not do any user tracking. They deactivate access logging both in the Framadate software and in the webserver and is available in many European languages.
· Let us compare training programmes.
– https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/de/publications-and-resources/country-reports/vet-in-europe-country-reports. Through this link, you will learn more about the European national vocational education and training (VET) systems.
– https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/european-qualifications-framework-eqf.
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) is a common European reference framework whose purpose is to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems.
– https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/events-and-projects/projects/national-qualifications-framework-nqf.
You can find information about the countries who have formally linked their national qualification systems to the EQF.
· Mobility documents.
– https://europa.eu/europass/en/europass-mobility-0
Europass Mobility is a document which describes the skills the students develop on a particular mobility experience. The document can include information on their roles and responsibilities, job-related skills, language skills, digital skills, organisation and managerial skills, communication skills. These skills can be very valuable when applying for jobs and courses in the future.
· About accommodation.
–https://www.lingoo.com/en/stay-host-family
By staying with a friendly host family, your student can eat, sleep and breathe a new language and culture as part of a totally immersive experience.
· Be present.
– https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects_en
Erasmus+ Project Results Platform will give you access to descriptions, results and contact information of all
projects funded under the Erasmus+ programme and some of the projects funded under its predecessor programmes in the field of education, training, youth and sports.
· The Curriculum Vitae.
– https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv
The Europass CV is one of the best-known CV formats in Europe. It is easy-to-use and familiar to employers and education institutions. Also, a coverletter can be created.
· Eviromentally friendly mobilities.
– www.atmosfair.de/en/atmosfair is a German non-profit organization that actively contributes to CO₂ mitigation by promoting, developing and financing renewable energies in over 15 countries worldwide.
– https://act.greenpeace.org/page/33073/action/1?mode=DEMO&locale=en-ZA. On this website, you can calculate your carbon footprint.
STAGE 3: DURING AND AFTER THE EXCHANGE
· Memorandum of understanding: http://www.ecvet-projects.eu/Documents/MoU%20VQTS.pdf
· 5 links for Erasmus + Projects
Online Linguistic Support: https://erasmusplusols.eu/en/
Programme guide: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/programme-guide_en
Distance calculator: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_en
About Erasmus+ https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/about_en
ECVET – a set of tools that makes it possible to present vocational competencies in a way that is comprehensible throughout Europe, regardless of duration, learning location and learning context.
You can DOWNLOAD this guide for FREE from here (English version – PDF format) or choose another language:
| German version | French version | Greek version |
| Spanish version | Romanian version | Portuguese version |
