Escola Artística e Profissional Árvore had as its main goals to improve the recognition of its training offer and to attract companies to provide more internship positions for students, in order to increase the demand for its vocational courses and contribute to the national goal of placing 50% of high school students in qualifying training paths. As in Portugal the internship/work places in the areas of the school courses are limited to small creative studios, often incapable of placing more than one or two students, we felt the need to broaden the on-the-job training spectrum to a European dimension. The opportunity to contact with foreign examples of good practices and other teaching systems is essential to the teachers as it allows them to acquire new knowledge and methodologies in order to update the curriculum and improve the vocational courses study programme. In a broader perspective, the school wants to improve the overall perception of vocational training, presenting it as a positive alternative qualification path to finish secondary education.
As a vocational school, Escola Artística e Profissional Árvore offers courses with level IV double certification in the field of visual arts, design and artistic technologies. Its training offer includes the following vocational courses: Graphic Design Technician, Equipment Design Technician, Fashion Design Technician, Fashion Coordination and Production Technician, Digital Design Technician, Multimedia Technician and 2D 3D Animation Technician. Oriented towards the development of the personal and social skills of its students – autonomy, responsibility, communication, cooperation and team work – the school applied for the Erasmus+ Mobility in Arts Project not only to strengthen students’ soft and technical skills, but also the teaching skills of its teachers and trainers. The school’s 20 year experience on international projects has proven that the Erasmus+ experience strengthens the learning-to-learn skills of both students and teachers, preparing them to enter the labour market, as well as to understand the importance of the continuous process of lifelong learning.