For this project we will be examining national and European issues addressing the themes of entrepreneurship and employment opportunities available to young people in our respective countries. Classroom curricular based activities will be based around topics such how education prepares young people for working life in each country, job opportunities for young people and the economic impact of the EU in our local areas. Students will compare the lives of themselves and their communities and discover particular national traits and investigate differences and similarities. In school activities and visits will focus on the major businesses in the area and what jobs are available in the local area. Cooperation with the local business community and local vocational organizations is also a main part. The other element of the project will be about enterprise with students planning their own business model and visiting partner schools buying and selling products. This will allow students to engage with ideas, challenges and applications from the business world. They will be responsible for making decisions, being able to evaluate their own enterprise activities and motivates them to pursue a career. This will take place on the mobility visits involved in the project. Students involved in this project will be 11-19 and will be encouraged to take a key role in the organisation and dissemination of the project. Many of the activities will be ICT based and communication between staff and students of all the partner schools will take place regularly and students' work will be shared and disseminated in all partner schools and the wider community in Europe. Within the schools themselves we will progress towards creating a European perspective within the curriculum Staff members will be able to exchange best practices in implementing occupational guidance/training in the curricla. The whole project will furthermore raise awareness of our partner schools and the European Union in our local communities.
During the Erasmus+ KA2 project “Employment Opportunities and Enterprise in Europe” five European Secondary schools from Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Spain worked closely together to examine national and European issues like entrepreneurship and employment opportunities available to young people in our respective countries. Classroom curricular based activities, e.g. shared presentations, international collaborative group work, students’ research, online-questionnaires, etc., were based around topics such as how education prepares young people for working life in each country, local economic profile of the schools’ areas, job opportunities for young people and the economic impact of the EU. All schools involved in the project compared the lives of themselves and their communities with our partner schools to discover particular national traits, to investigate differences and similarities and to learn from their experiences. In-school activities and visits focused on the major businesses in the area, investigating various fields of employment available in the region and connecting the schools with their surrounding economic communities and organizations involved in vocational training. The other element of the project involved enterprise with students planning their own business models and visiting partner schools buying and selling products. This allowed students to engage with creative ideas, meet challenges and experience applications from the business world. They were responsible for making business decisions, e.g. marketing, transport, production, availability of goods, currencies, different social/economic target groups, etc. Students involved in these enterprise activities got their first glimpse of the engaging and motivating nature of entrepreneurship and may guide them in pursuing a career after school. Students involved in this project were 11-18 and were encouraged to take a key role in the organisation and dissemination of the project. Many of the activities were ICT based. Students' work was shared and disseminated in all partner schools and the wider community in Europe with the help of displays, talks, the project homepage and articles in the local media. Within the schools themselves progress was made towards creating a European perspective within the curriculum. Staff members exchanged best practices in implementing occupational guidance/training in the curricla and CLIL-based teaching practices. Many of the shared ideas were put into practice at the partner schools. The whole project furthermore raised awareness of our partner schools and the European Union in our local communities. The partner schools working together successfully on "Employment Opportunities and Enterprise in Europe" were Mörike-Realschule Heilbronn, Germany; Leikanger ungdomsskule, Leikanger, Norway; Lentiz Reviuslyceum, Maasluis, the Netherlands; SOU Vasil Levski, Kula, Bulgaria; Den Norske skuole Costa Blanca, L'Alfaz del Pi, Spain. Three of the schools are continuing their cooperation during a new Erasmus+ KA2 project which will further explore the topics introduced during this project.