The vocational college of the district of Olpe can benefit in many ways from participating in European mobilities. Pupils who have only had occasional contact with the topic of Europe in their lessons have a great added value. They can expand their competences and question and, if necessary, adapt their own thinking and actions to European standards and perspectives. This applies on the one hand to the respective occupational relevance of the individual courses, but also to the understanding of a united Europe in general. Organised learning stays in a European context offer pupils the opportunity to gain insights into the foreign working world, to gather practical work experience and to better understand Europe-relevant, social and cultural contexts in their diversity. Furthermore, an internship is an occasion for personal development and promotes the growth of independence, teamwork, tolerance and, above all, intercultural competence. These soft skills, which are indispensable in modern professional life, are complemented by an improvement in language skills.
The task of the vocational college is to qualify learners so that they can participate in and shape developments in society and the economy at European level. This project makes a significant contribution to the optimal preparation for learning, living and working in Europe, as it creates an opportunity to develop and deepen an understanding of European history, institutions and current European content, to gain professional experience in the working world, to get to know new people and cultures, to improve language skills. For the learners, broadening their own language skills and getting to know relevant realities and changes in European countries offers the opportunity to improve or maintain their chances on the labour market in the long term. The "Berufskolleg des Kreises Olpe" (Vocational College of the district of Olpe) has set as an explicit objective within the framework of school development to increase the quality of the vocational training offered through a European component in order to strengthen the competitiveness of the learners, the region and the institution. The Erasmus+ project is a crucial building block on the way to more internationalisation.