The essential goals of the project resulted from the above-mentioned reasons for carrying out the project: the goals inevitably resulted from the described contexts and needs, so that they are partly presented again here and a certain redundancy is unavoidable. The project aimed at enhancing human and social skills for all participants, irrespective of the training courses attended, with a special focus on culturally sensitive communication. In order to be able to appropriately develop these skills in our full-time students and trainees, the cooperation with other training institutions and social partners within Europe and especially the realisation of vocationally-oriented stays abroad were supposed to offer the suitable learning scenario. The internationalisation of our institution was aimed to be further promoted with regard to the expansion of local language skills and the deepening of the curriculum with regard to European subject content. The internships financially supported by the project were to attract highly motivated, high-achieving full-time students to our institution and inspire them to apply for the CertiLingua label of excellence that we offer, while at the same time promoting an increased interest in the second foreign language among students across the board. Furthermore, the additional qualification "Europaassistent IHK" (European Assistant Chamber of Industry and Commerce) offered at Kuniberg Berufskolleg for vocational students should be made more attractive. Since an internship abroad is mandatory for the additional qualification, but for financial reasons this could only be realised by a small number of pupils, the participation of vocational school pupils in the additional qualification, but also in mobility measures as a whole, should be increased by promoting internships abroad with project funds. An expansion for the area of logistics via the already established practice of mutual visits with entire groups of pupils and the exchange of colleagues in the form of an approximation to a joint training was meant to be realised. In summary, it can be said that the project was initially focussed on sending pupils and trainees. The focus here was on two equally important areas: the development and expansion of key competences among the participating pupils (and, if necessary, the participating teachers), but also the development of sustainable structures in the cooperation with our foreign partners. Furthermore, an exchange of training content, especially in the area of IHK European assistants, was naturally also aimed at.
Current surveys on the labour market compatibility of training, especially in the field of business and administration, repeatedly emphasise the importance of foreign language skills and intercultural competences for applicants for a job. This is of particular importance because the labour market is especially tight in the Rhein-Ruhr region and potentially successful applicants for a qualified job must distinguish themselves from the field of their competitors through additional competences. Companies in the region therefore expect their future employees to have a good command of at least one foreign language in addition to their mother tongue and to be able to communicate fluently in it. In addition, companies demand corresponding skills in the area of social and human competences to ensure that future employees can familiarise themselves with new subject content and work contexts as flexibly and quickly as possible. In order to be able to develop these skills accordingly in our full-time students and trainees, Kuniberg Berufskolleg relied on cooperation with other training institutions and social partners within Europe as part of the project, which was to be expressed in particular in the realisation of vocationally-oriented stays abroad. The internationalisation of the institution through the establishment of educational courses with a specifically European-oriented profile represents for us the decisive instrument for achieving the qualifications mentioned above. However, the internationalisation of our institution is also a particular challenge with regard to the expansion of language skills and the deepening of the curriculum with regard to European subject content. While we as an institution are already working internally on the further development of our curricula, teaching materials and learning methods, there is also a need for additional input from outside in order to achieve the set goals in the long term. This was another goal of the project, which we wanted to realise by choosing our cooperation partners. Another medium-term goal of the project presented here was to create a solid foundation for the CertiLingua label of excellence that we offer; this can only be achieved in the long run through high-quality internships abroad and the recruitment of highly motivated, high-achieving students. In addition, intensive on-site teaching of the new foreign language is required in order to achieve the foreign language standards demanded by the label of excellence. Furthermore, we also wanted to intensify our activities in the long term with regard to European training elements in the vocational school. At the moment, we already offer an additional qualification "Europaassistent IHK" (European Assistant IHK), for which an internship abroad is a mandatory requirement. By promoting internships abroad at school, we wanted to increase the participation of vocational school students in the mobility measures offered. We had already started an expansion to the area of logistics; here, too, the influence of the project should establish a stable practice of exchange, both in the area of mutual visits with whole groups of pupils, the exchange of colleagues and, in the long term, the possibility of realising parts of the training as joint training.