Within the scope of the project „Moving Young Europeans“, several vocational schools from Liepaja/Latvia, Płock/Poland, Brescia/Italy, and Darmstadt/Germany have united with the industrial company and recognized training firm Merck KGaA and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Darmstadt Rhein-Main, in order to exploit various forms of learning cooperation and to form a sustainable European network of vocational education and training, that offers learning stays for apprentices abroad in the professional fields of IT, electrical engineering, mechatronics, metal industry, gastronomy and automobile engineering in the context of a EU Twin Town Partnership. Our project takes up the growing internationalization of business and the increase of mobility hence necessary among youth in their first vocational training. Based on a workshop on the subject of “Youth unemployment and shortage in skilled workers” at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Darmstadt in February 2015, the institutions filing the application have dealt with the measure of a “cooperation between learning places”. The workshop was carried out within the context of the EU-network among twin towns. The working results of the actors (vocational schools, IHK, enterprise Merck KGaA) defined the building-up and cultivation of a “learning place cooperation” as an effective and strategic measure for increasing the employment of young people in Europe. The cooperation between learning places means the collaboration of vocational schools and recognized training firms, resp. cooperating companies. It does not only refer to the dual system of education but describes all forms of vocational training, even full-time schools, where cooperation between different learning places for optimizing the vocational education takes place. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce and also the company Merck KG a.A. maintain contacts to other companies at home and abroad. Regarding the cooperation between learning places, they see things representatively in the perspective of the companies, whilst the schools are co-determining the subject from their own perspective. Both the IHK and Merck KGaA will also assist in the mediation of posts for a learning stay. At the same time, they may also act, due to their strong regional position, as a door opener to other companies that support the schools in advertising activities in their media and offer local and international information events on the subject of learning stays and their added value for both the training and the firms. The intention is to integrate the European idea of unity into the vocational training, to qualify the apprentices for fulfilling the tasks in the profession, and for participating in the world of works, society and Europe in a social and ecological responsibility. That is why well-tried procedures of good practice in the learning place cooperation are exchanged, further developed, and tried out. Fundamental structures for a readiness and openness for such goals are the centre of attention for the working mission of this partnership. This shall be achieved in detail by the following aspects of the cooperation between learning places: 1) organization, tasks and management of the vocational training network 2) planning, realization and evaluation of cooperative training projects with a focus on functional learning, including web based learning (e-learning, digitalization 4.0) 3) planning, realisation and feedback to investigations of companies for generating vocational learning assignments, and 4) transnational cooperation regarding vocational learning stays abroad. Based on these first topics of a cooperation between learning places, the following partial goals are resulting: Goal 1) To form a transnational network of vocational training that enables learning stays abroad for apprentices. Goal 2) With the help of cooperative training projects some self-organized, functional teaching forms and concepts of web based learning will be exchanged. Goal 3) A guide for the preparation, realization and feedback to company investigations will be drawn-up, tested and evaluated. Goal 4) An accurately fitting vocational and intercultural motivation training for learning stays abroad will be developed, tested and evaluated. For this purpose, some learning stays will be made possible during the project term. The status of the formulation and further information may be held anytime of the project partners or the institution filing the application, i.e. Heinrich-Emanuel-Merck-Schule. The mailing address is: [email protected] . The project group is reporting on the progress and the results of the partnership under the following website: www.erasmusplus-projekte.eu .
As part of the "Young Europeans* Move" project, vocational schools from Liepaja/Latvia, Plock/Poland, Brescia/Italy and Darmstadt/Germany have joined forces with the industrial and training company Merck KGaA and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Darmstadt Rhein-Main, to create a sustainable European vocational training network by using different forms of learning cooperation, offering learning stays for trainees abroad for IT, electrical, mechatronics, metalworking, gastronomy and automotive occupations in the context of an EU town twinning. Our project thus began with the increasing internationalisation of companies and the necessary increase in the mobility of young people in initial vocational training. The project was embedded in an EU partner city network that dealt more or less "ineffectively" with the topic of "youth unemployment and lack of skilled workers". Under the guidance of the Heinrich-Emanuel-Merck-Schule Darmstadt, the EU partner cities, Merck and IHK Darmstadt have recognized that "learning location cooperation" with its effects and opportunities for discussion is a key effective and strategic measure to increase the employment of young people in Europe. For this reason, efforts have been made through the EU town twinning network to attract vocational schools to participate in the project. Learning location cooperation is defined as cooperation between vocational schools and training companies/institutions or cooperating companies or practical institutions (e.g. workshops in schools). It not only refers to the dual system, but also describes all forms of vocational training, including full-school forms, in which cooperation takes place between different learning locations in order to optimise vocational training. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the company Merck KG a.A. took a representative view of the companies, while the schools, from their point of view, designed the topic according to concrete goals. Both economic and industrial partner institutions also supported the placement of places for learning stays and the dissemination of the project results through media publications, web presence and within their institutions. The project transported the idea of European unity into vocational training through the cooperation of the various European partners. It was illustrated by many examples and made tangible by the project results, how the educational mission of the vocational school - to enable trainees to fulfil their tasks in their profession and to help shape the world of work, society and Europe in social and ecological responsibility - can be implemented in the European context. The exchange of good practice in cooperation between learning venues provided support in this respect. Basic structures for the readiness and openness for these goals were at the centre of our partnership's work mandate. In detail, the following aspects of learning location cooperation were achieved: 1) Organisation, tasks and management of a vocational training network with 40 companies from four countries (IT, DE, PL. LV), 2) Planning, implementation and evaluation of 32 occupation-related, cooperative training projects (web-based learning, e-learning, digitisation 4.0) in the form of learning stays, 3) Planning, implementation and post-processing of 25 operational investigations for the generation and evaluation of a guideline for operational investigations and 4) Implementation of 8 transnational project meetings for the coordination/collaboration of the participants and cooperation with companies for the generation of vocational learning stays. The following results were achieved: Outcome 1) A transnational network of 40 VET institutions was established. The majority of these offer learning stays. Particular mention should be made of the newly established cooperation between vocational schools, companies and municipal institutions as well as between the Darmstadt Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Brescia Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Outcome 2) Concepts of web-based learning and digitisation were exchanged with cooperative training projects. Outcome 3) A guideline for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of company investigations was drawn up, tested, evaluated, distributed and made available for download. Outcome 4) A tailor-made vocational and intercultural motivation training for learning stays abroad was developed, tested and evaluated through 32 learning stays. The concept is available for download together with films. Outcome 5) The project was widely published through various dissemination media (e.g. TV, international press, websites, print media). The results are available for download on the EU websites and on the project website (www.erasmusplus-project.eu).